Hasui 巴水: Kozu, Osaka 大阪高津 (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) 川瀬巴水
Title: Magical evening view of “Kôzu, Osaka”. 大阪高津
Series: Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series 旅みやげ第三集
Date: 1924 (Taishô 13)

Hasui captures perfectly a specific place and time, transporting the viewer to a moonlit promontory overlooking Osaka in early evening. Narazaki wrote this description “Positioned on a promontory, the Kozu shrine is bathed in moonlight. Deserted, it has grown still. The Osaka streets below come alive: the lights in the evening fog look like the smoldering tips of cigarettes. Night has just fallen, and a solitary bright star burns bright in the dark blue sky. It is clear from Hasui’s sketch that he has meticulously and realistically depicted details of the building, such as the architectural supports. Hasui creates a print based not only on emotion but also portrays the subject with great precision...Judging from this composition, Hasui’s style at this time is becoming more decisive.” With the seal (left margin) used by Watanabe between 1924 and 1930, this can be considered a first edition. This work is shown full page in the Narazaki catalogue raisonné. 

Condition: Excellent impression; very good color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban (38.3 x 25.8 cm)
Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Narazaki #118. Kendall Brown, Kawase Hasui: The complete woodblock prints, 2003, no. 118. Kendall Brown, Visions of Japan: Kawase Hasui's masterpieces, 2004, p. 51, plate 15. Carolyn M. Putney, et al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 2013, p. 136, cat. no. 81
Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAS584