
Biography
Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was one of the most important Japanese woodblock print artists of the twentieth century and a central figure in the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement that revitalized traditional ukiyo-e printmaking in modern Japan. Over a career spanning nearly four decades, he created more than six hundred woodblock print designs, earning him the epithets "Artist of Snow" and "Hiroshige of the Showa Era" for his masterful depictions of Japanese landscapes in rain, snow, moonlight, and mist.
Born Kawase Bunjiro on May 18, 1883, in Shiba Ward, Tokyo, Hasui grew up in a family that ran a silk braiding and thread wholesale business. His paternal uncle was the noted Meiji-era author and journalist Kanagaki Robun. As a child, Hasui suffered from meningitis, which left him with a quiet and introspective temperament. He showed an early passion for art but was expected to take over the family business. When the business went bankrupt around 1909, Hasui was finally free to pursue his artistic ambitions at the age of twenty-six.
Hasui's artistic training followed an indirect path. He initially studied painting under Aoyanagi Bokusen beginning in 1897, then with Araki Kan'yu from 1902. Around 1908, he approached the renowned nihonga master Kaburagi Kiyokata for instruction, but Kiyokata turned him away, calling him a late starter and advising him to study Western-style painting first. Hasui spent two years studying oil painting and watercolor under Okada Saburosuke before Kiyokata accepted him as a pupil around 1910. It was Kiyokata who bestowed upon him the art name "Hasui," meaning "spring water." Under Kiyokata's tutelage, Hasui studied ukiyo-e techniques and nihonga painting, and worked as an illustrator for magazines, books, and advertisements.
Hasui's career as a woodblock print designer began in August 1918, when he was inspired by an exhibition of Ito Shinsui's Eight Views of Lake Biwa. He approached Shinsui's publisher, Watanabe Shozaburo, who commissioned three experimental prints based on sketches Hasui had made at Shiobara. The success of these first designs launched a prolific partnership that would last for the rest of Hasui's life. In 1919, he produced the Twelve Scenes of Tokyo, Eight Views of the Southeast, and began the sixteen-print Souvenirs of Travel, First Series. By 1923, he had already created over one hundred landscape designs.
The Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923, proved catastrophic for Hasui. He lost his home and one hundred eighty-eight accumulated sketchbooks. Watanabe's entire workshop was also destroyed, including all woodblocks, the complete print inventory, and unsold prints from the unfinished Collection of Scenes of Japan series. Pre-earthquake prints by Hasui are consequently among the rarest and most sought-after shin-hanga. Despite this devastating loss, Watanabe financed a one-hundred-and-two-day sketching trip for Hasui through the Hokuriku, San'in, and San'yo regions later that year, the longest journey of his career. The sketches from this trip formed the basis for the twenty-nine prints of the Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series, published between 1924 and 1929.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1883–1957
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Shin-hanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was one of the most important Japanese woodblock print artists of the twentieth century and a central figure in the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement that revitalized traditional ukiyo-e printmaking in modern Japan. Over a career spanning nearly four decades, he created more than six hundred woodblock print designs, earning him the epithets "Artist of Snow" and "Hiroshige of the Showa Era" for his masterful depictions of Japanese landscapes in rain, snow, moonlight, and mist.
Kawase Hasui was active from 1883 to 1957. They were associated with the Shin-hanga movement.
Kawase Hasui's work was shaped by the Shin-hanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Shin-hanga: ## What is Shin-hanga? Shin-hanga (新版画), literally "new prints," is the early twentieth-century revival of the collaborative Japanese woodblock workshop, organized between roughly 1915 and 1960 by the Tokyo publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885–1962) and a handful of competing houses.
Kawase Hasui's prints frequently feature bokashi, landscapes, temples & shrines, snow scenes, rivers & lakes, night scenes.
Original prints by Kawase Hasui can be found in collections including Japanese Art Open Database, Legion of Honor, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Scholten Japanese Art.
Based on 3425 auction results from LiveAuctioneers (2284 since 2022). Typical prints sell for $325-$1100, with a median of $600. Recent market (2022-2024) shows a median of $650. Premium examples can reach $2250+ while exceptional pieces have sold for up to $40000.
External Resources
Series by Kawase Hasui
Twelve Scenes of Tokyo
1919–1920 · 12 prints
Souvenirs of Travel, First Series
1919–1920
Twelve Months of Tokyo
1920–1921 · 12 prints
Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series
1921–1921
Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series
1924–1924
Twenty Views of Tokyo
1925–1930 · 20 prints
Selection of Views of the Tōkaidō
1931–1947
One Hundred Views of New Tokyo
1936–1940
Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition
Selection of Views of Japan
Collection of Scenic Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition
Woodblock Prints by Kawase Hasui (1612)
Signature Techniques
Mokuhanga techniques most associated with Kawase Hasui.
Compare With
Hasui's atmospheric weather scenes contrast directly with Yoshida's structural mountain prints; both worked with traditional shin-hanga publishing.




















![A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1d1e45a7-2153-e530-e16e-4ea11472525c/full/843,/0/default.jpg)




