Hasui 巴水: Morning In Beppu 別府の朝 (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Morning In Beppu 別府の朝  Date: 1922

Series: 日本風景選集 Nihon fukei senshu

An unusually scarce, pre-earthquake design from the series “Selection of Scenes of Japan”. An informal fish market seems to be taking place, with a man in an apron holding up what looks to be a tuna. Other villagers gather on the beach, probably inspecting wares that were freshly delivered by the nearby fishing vessels. The small boat at left may be a ferry vessel.  The morning sun is still a bright yellow, glowing behind the mountains. As Narazaki wrote: “Villagers and boat passengers gather along a coastal dune. This is the first work by Hasui that deals with a group of people, whose small forms in this composition are beautifully portrayed. A few fishing boats compose the middle ground, the spa town of Beppu and the faraway mountains are silhouetted in a purplish blue”. Beppu is one of Japan’s most famous hot spring resorts, home to more than two thousand onsen. This view seems to be from Mochigahama Beach; although the view from the sand looks much the same, urban sprawl seems to have completely covered most of the flat lands between the mountains and the sea, and this rural view that could be from hundreds of years ago has captured a charmingly pre-industrial scene that has largely disappeared. From a limited edition, verso, numbered “nine” from an edition of 300 prints. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. With perfect color. One tiny pigment accretion in sky, from the time of printing. Dimensions: aiban 30.6 x 22.7 cm

Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: H#89 Signature: Hasui with his seal

SKU: HAS634