Back to gallery
Travel Notes I (First Collection of Travel Souvenirs) Mutsu Tsuta Onsen 1919

Art Appreciation

This evocative woodblock print captures a tranquil rural scene under the gentle fall of rain at night. The composition centers on the silhouette of a rustic house enveloped in the enveloping darkness of the evening, with just a few warm lights glowing softly through windows, contrasting with the deep blues and blacks that dominate the palette. The rain is portrayed through vertical white streaks that rhythmically cut across the scene, adding a dynamic, almost meditative quality. The heavy, towering silhouette of misty mountains in the background adds depth and grandeur to the quiet landscape, while the foreground shows a faintly illuminated pond, rippling gently under the rain.

The artist’s masterful use of subtle gradations of blue and black, interspersed with muted greens and gentle hints of ochre within the house lights, conjures a serene yet suggestive atmosphere. The print exemplifies the Shin-hanga movement’s ability to infuse traditional ukiyo-e techniques with a modern sense of mood and realism. The delicate textures and careful layering of color create a tactile sensation – you almost hear the soft pitter-patter of rainfall and feel the cool dampness in the air. This piece is a beautiful poetic meditation on solitude, nature, and the quiet moments of everyday rural life in early 20th-century Japan.

Travel Notes I (First Collection of Travel Souvenirs) Mutsu Tsuta Onsen 1919

Hasui Kawase

Category:

Created:

1919

Likes:

0

Dimensions:

2254 × 3200 px

Download:

Related artworks

Twenty Views of Tokyo: Moon over Akabane Arakawa
Honmon Temple, Ikegami
Travel Notes II: Winter Storm Gorge
Lake Matsubara, Shinshu (1941)
Mount Fuji After Snow, Tagoura 1932
Scenic View of Puyŏ and Falling Flowers Rock, Korea, 1939
Saisho Temple in Hirosaki
Winter in Kamigamo, Kyoto
Travel Journal II: Sado Mano Bay 1921
Morning at Shiobara Shinyu - 1946
Twenty Views of Tokyo: Zozo-ji Temple
Travel Notes I (First Collection of Travel Souvenirs) Wakasa Kude no Hama 1920