A vermilion shrine floats on still water in the morning fog

The vermilion pillars and white lattice walls of a shrine stand on piles above still grey-blue water, their dark grey roofs stepping across the sheet, with stone lanterns on stone bases at the water's edge. Behind them pines and cedars fade into a thick grey mist, and two birds cross the pale sky. Every pillar, panel and lantern is repeated in the water below as a soft reflection.

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.