A cream sail passes beneath a russet sea rock

The pierced rock of Zaimoku Island rises from the bay at Matsushima, its weathered arch printed in warm russet and brown against a pale cream sky. Small pines cling to the top of the rock. A boat with a cream sail passes below it, and the turquoise water is worked in fine horizontal lines that carry its reflection. The palette is unusually warm for Hasui — rust and terracotta set against blue-green.

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.