The Floating World
Departing Spring
Yuku haru
Kawase Hasui · 1925 (Taishō 14, on the National Diet Library record)
What it is
A woman in a flowered kimono raises a hand to her hair: a figure subject from an artist known above all for snow, rain and evening views of places.
Why it matters
Hasui designed almost one thousand prints over nearly forty years, most of them views of places, working closely with the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō.
What to notice
The pattern of the kimono is printed in close detail, and the face and hand are left almost bare.
A season ending, shown as a gesture.
The record
- Artist
- Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883–1957)
- Date
- 1925 (Taishō 14, on the National Diet Library record)
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · NDL-DC 2586550-04 Kawase Hasui crd.jpg
Impression note. From the National Diet Library of Japan, through Wikimedia Commons; the library record gives the publication as 1925. The kimono pattern carries the most blocks on the sheet, and a clean impression keeps it sharp against the plain ground. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
More Kawase Hasui
Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tōkyō nijukkei)Moon at MagomeKawase Hasui · 1930 · from $69.00
Kawase HasuiInokashira in Snow (Benten Shrine)Kawase Hasui · 1928 (Shōwa 3, on the National Diet Library record) · from $69.00
Hashiguchi GoyōWoman at the BathHashiguchi Goyō · 1915 · from $69.00
Hashiguchi GoyōWoman Combing Her HairHashiguchi Goyō · 1920The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.