Shimohonda-machi, Kanazawa – Kawase Hasui (1921)

A shady summer lane in old Kanazawa. A quiet street runs between long walls under huge, dark-green trees. A lone figure with a parasol walks in the shade, while white summer clouds pile up in a deep blue sky. The light is bright, the air still: you can almost feel the heat of the afternoon and the coolness under the leaves.

Kanazawa, on the Sea of Japan, was the castle town of the powerful Maeda lords and has kept many of its old streets. Kawase Hasui travelled there and brought back this scene for his series Souvenirs of Travels, published in 1921.

Why it works on your wall

• Calm and luminous: blue, green and white for a living room, a bedroom or a hallway
• A journey to Japan: an everyday scene that captures the peaceful charm of old Japan
• Framing tip: a thin natural wood or black frame and a white mount suit its clean lines

The woodblock print

Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was the leading landscape artist of the shin-hanga (“new prints”) movement, which renewed the Japanese woodblock print in the 20th century. He produced several hundred landscapes, from snowy temples to moonlit harbours, and was named a Living National Treasure in 1956. This print belongs to the second series of Souvenirs of Travels (Tabi miyage dai-nishū), published by Watanabe Shōzaburō.

• Artist: Kawase Hasui (1883–1957)
• Date: 1921
• Series: Souvenirs of Travels, second series
• Technique: woodblock print (shin-hanga)
• Theme: Kanazawa, summer, Japanese street

Your print

• Colours restored from a high-definition scan of the original
• Printed in Europe on thick archival matte paper, FSC certified
• From A4 to A0, plus 40×60, 50×70, 60×90 and 70×100 cm and 12×18 to 27×40 inch sizes, all made for standard frames
• Free shipping, no minimum order. Shipped rolled in a sturdy tube

Discover more of his landscapes in our Kawase Hasui prints, or explore our Japanese woodblock prints.