Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) was one of Japan’s most prominent artists of the “new print movement” of the early 20th century. His talent was in making woodblock prints depicting landscapes ensconced in wind, rain and snow, each scene masterfully drawing the viewer into the image. A good example is the following print, one of many from the series, “One Hundred Views of New Tokyo” executed between 1928 and 1932.
In this scene, Hasui depicts a woman caught in the middle of the bridge in a downpour. The sky is dark, the clouds are swirling, and wind and rain are coming at an angle, forcing the woman to lean her umbrella into the pelting rain in a picture of quiet resilience against the awesome beauty of nature.
A Rocky Road to Art
Hasui was born in 1883 in Tokyo to parents who were silk merchants. The young Hasui aspired to be an artist but was discouraged by his parents in favor of working for the family business. But he had made up his own mind, and began learning to draw and paint under artists Aoyagi Bokusen and Araki Kanyu. Around this time, he experienced several setbacks, including the loss of the family’s business and poor health. Though his eyesight deteriorated, he was adamant to become an artist, moving to Shiobara, a town north of Tokyo to live with his aunt. Recuperating in the countryside filled with natural beauty was the just the thing Hasui needed to keep his spirits up. There, he indulged in the scenic views of the landscape, learning to make sketches and exhibiting his work as early as the age of 19. At 28, he was accepted into the Kiyokata school of traditional painting founded by Kiyokata Kaburagi’s (1878-1972). Kiyokata gave Hasui his new name, “Hasui” meaning “water gushing from a spring” to align with Hasui’s last name “Kawase” meaning “river rapids.”
In 1918, the Watanabe Shōzaburō publishing house contracted Hasui to begin producing print designs, a partnership that would continue through the 1950s. At the time, Watanabe was the leading force and producer of shin-hanga or “new movement” prints and Hasui’s published work through Watanabe became immensely popular and profitable, especially prints exported to the United States, where some of his work was collected by museums.
Most of Hasui’s prints focused on landscape and nature themes. He was a master of light and depth in depicting scenes of snow, rain, nighttime, and moonlight, with scarcely any human figures, which some art historians speculated reflected the artist’s sense of loneliness, counterbalanced by the serenity and poise of nature.
Hasui Kawase died of cancer on November 7, 1957 at the age of 74 in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of his life, he had created more than 600 editions of prints.
More Woodblock Prints by Kawasake Hasui
