Snow on the quay where dark boats lie moored

Snow lies on the roofs and the quay of the fishing village at Urayasu, with a lavender-grey sky above and two birds in flight. Weathered timber warehouses and thatched roofs are stacked along the far bank, patched with white. A line of dark wooden boats is moored along the near quay, their hulls printed almost black against the pale water, and stacked poles and nets lie on the snow-covered bank. The water is a broad grey-violet with the boats reflected in it.

Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was the defining landscape artist of shin-hanga, the movement that carried Japanese woodblock printing into the twentieth century. From 1918 he worked with the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, travelling almost continuously through Japan and turning roadside sketches into prints of unusual atmospheric precision. Snow, rain and failing light were his real subjects, as much as any temple or harbour. In 1956 Japan recognised his woodblock technique as an Intangible Cultural Property. His prints are held by the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.