Hasui 巴水: Matoba, Takehara (Hiroshima ken) 竹原的場 (Reserved)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 巴水
Title: Matoba, Takehara (Hiroshima ken) 竹原的場 

Date: 1948

Traditional sailboats glide across the Seto Inland Sea, the presence of people felt but not seen, the sky a soothing purple-pink. This peaceful scene of tranquil beauty may however cause a double-take when we think about the location and the date: Hiroshima ken (prefecture), 1948.  Only three years earlier, on August 6, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, a distance of only about 50 kilometers from this very location. Hasui has always chosen to focus on Japan’s unique scenic beauty, and this work was published at time when artistic materials must have still been rather hard to come by: Hasui is showing us that traditional Japan still endures in its  places of timeless natural beauty. Matoba Beach is a popular beach destination today, with the islands of Awashima, Omishima and others spread out in the distance opposite its sandy shores. With the round postwar Watanabe seal lower left, indicating that this is a first edition. A somewhat scarce design.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban (26.7 x 39.2 cm)
Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Hotei #516, Narazaki number 497. See Art Institute of Chicago, VMFA.
Seal: Watanabe (postwar seal, as correct for 1st edition)
Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAC516H