Hasui 巴水: Kinosaki, Tajima (Night of the Rain) 但馬城崎（夜雨）

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883-1957)

Title: Kinosaki, Tajima (Night of the Rain) 但馬城崎（夜雨）

Series: Souvenirs of Travels, Third Series 旅みやげ第三集 (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)
Date: 1924 [Taisho 13]

A pedestrian holding a yellow umbrella turns away from the viewer, increasing the solitary ambiance in this famously atmospheric work. We also see, just barely through the rain, a jinriksha driver heading in our direction, head bowed. Masterfully evocative in tones of black and grey, there are no keyblock outlines at all in this design. Breaking up the greys and blacks of the rain are the smooth blues of the canal and the yellows glowing from the windows on both sides of the canal and on the man’s parasol. The centuries of tradition that enabled this level of woodblock printmaking has practically disappeared; the carving, the printing, and especially the know-how to create these color separations without keyblock outlines  would not be possible today. The Watanabe seal in the right margin was in use between 1930 and 1941; the paper used seems to indicate a publication date much closer to 1930.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Minor hinging remants on verso margins. Dimensions: ôban (25.6 x 38.4 cm) Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: See MFA Boston, The Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Insititute of Art, VMFA collections. Kato, Junzo, comp., Kindai Nihon hanga taikei, 1975-76, Vol. 3, pl. 21; Narazaki Muneshige, Kawase Hasui mokuhanga shu, 1979, pl. 121; Irwin J. Pachter, Kawase Hasui and His Contemporaries, 1986, p. 51, pl. 33; Kendall H. Brown and Goodall-Cristante, Hollis, Shin Hanga: New Prints in Modern Japan, 1996, p. 19, fig. 4; Kendall H. Brown, Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2003, p 341, pl. 121. Seal: Kawase  Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAC121W