Tenno Temple, Osaka (Osaka Tennōji), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)

Kawase HasuiWW-1927-019233

1927·Color woodblock print·36.5 × 24.1 cm (14 3/8 × 9 1/2 in.)

<p>The temple buildings and five-story pagoda in this print are bathed in decreasing quantities of light, with the least distinct and least colorful structure appearing in the distance. Snow falls lightly from the sky, mingling with what might be stars. A lone figure, caught pausing to admire the serene moment, has left footprints in the gathering snow.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1927
Medium: Color woodblock print
Dimensions: 36.5 × 24.1 cm (14 3/8 × 9 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Kawase Hasui

Artist

Kawase Hasui

Printmaking

Kawase Hasui was a Japanese woodblock printmaker specializing in landscape and travel scenes during the early twentieth century. Working in the shin-hanga tradition, he created atmospheric compositions of rural Japan, coastal views, and seasonal phenomena using bold compositional framing and a restrained palette of blues, greens, and earth tones. His prints capture nocturnal and weather-dependent moments, emphasizing mood over topographical detail. Hasui's approach bridged Edo-period ukiyo-e conventions with modernist sensibilities of line and negative space.

Japan

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