Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) | Snow at Daichi (Daichi no yuki) | Taisho period, early 20th century

This was the first design by Hasui that was not published under Wataabe Shozaburo (1885-1962).

Between February 1925-1927, Tatsugoro Hirose III (1878-1946) commissioned Hasui and Ito Shinsui (1898-1972) to produce five sets of two designs. Totalling ten printed works, the collaborative series comprised pairings of landscapes by Hasui and portraits of women (bijin-ga) by Shinsui. The present work, Snow at Daichi, was paired with Shinsui’s Snowy Night (Yuki no yoru),

Tatsugoro was the third head of the Isetatsu publishing house and wholesaler. Established at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868) in 1864, the family run company produced decorative printed paper (chiyogami), as well as omocha-e, a genre of woodblock print designed for children’s play. In the calamity of the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1923, many of Isetatsu’s stock and designs were lost in the devastation. Two years later, Tatsugoro’s commission with Hasui and Shinsui heralded the publisher’s first foray into shin-hanga, the 'Revival Print' movement which sought to revitalise the ukiyo-e print tradition. 

For an impression of the companion print by Shinsui in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 2002.161.87, go to:

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/62363/snowy-night-ito-shinsui