Kawase Hasui - Nenokuchi Lake, Towada (1933)

Step into the sublime beauty of northern Japan with Kawase Hasui's "Nenokuchi Lake, Towada" (1933), a breathtaking shin-hanga masterpiece that captures the fleeting splendor of autumn in the Tōhoku region. This museum-quality reproduction presents one of Hasui's most chromatically bold compositions, where a coral-pink sunset illuminates a landscape transformed by seasonal change.

This exceptional print showcases Towada's pristine wilderness at the moment of perfect seasonal transition. The foreground features a dramatically twisted tree branch laden with golden-yellow autumn leaves, its gnarled form suggesting decades of mountain winds and harsh winters. This compositional device—a technique called ma-eda in Japanese aesthetics—frames the distant volcanic peak and creates dimensional depth through contrasting near and far elements.

The color orchestration is nothing short of spectacular. Hasui employs a daring palette where cool gray-blue mountains meet a blazing coral and salmon-pink sky, while golden foliage provides warmth in the middle ground. The lake's surface mirrors this chromatic drama, creating horizontal bands of reflected color that anchor the composition. Notice the subtle gradations in the sky, moving from intense coral at the horizon to softer pink-peach tones above—a testament to the printer's skill in bokashi technique.

Created in 1933 during one of Hasui's journeys to document Japan's remote natural treasures, this print represents his mature period when he had perfected his ability to capture specific atmospheric moments. Lake Towada, nestled in the caldera of an ancient volcano on the Aomori-Akita border, was relatively inaccessible in the 1930s, making Hasui's documentation particularly valuable for contemporary audiences.

The composition reflects shin-hanga's synthesis of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. While the asymmetrical framing and decorative foliage reference classical Japanese painting, the atmospheric perspective and naturalistic color observation show Western influence. The result is neither purely traditional nor wholly modern, but a unique hybrid that speaks across cultural boundaries.

The twisted tree branch is not merely decorative but symbolic—representing mono no aware (the pathos of things), the Japanese aesthetic appreciation for the transient beauty of nature. The autumn leaves will fall, the sunset will fade, but Hasui's print preserves this ephemeral perfection eternally.

This reproduction maintains the extraordinary color fidelity and tonal subtlety of Hasui's original, from the delicate sky gradations to the dimensional modeling of the gnarled branch. The print offers a window into Japan's northern wilderness at a moment of perfect natural harmony.

Perfect for collectors of landscape prints, nature enthusiasts, or anyone seeking to bring the contemplative beauty of Japanese wilderness aesthetics into their environment. This piece exemplifies why Hasui is considered the supreme landscape artist of the shin-hanga movement.

Artist: Kawase Hasui (川瀬 巴水) Date: 1933 Location: Nenokuchi, Lake Towada, Aomori/Akita Prefecture Season: Autumn Subject: Mountain landscape with volcanic peak