Hikone Castle in Early Summer Rain

Hikone Castle in Early Summer Rain (1966 period) renders one of Japan's five "national treasure" castles under the distinctive atmosphere of early summer precipitation — the white walls of the tenshu (keep) made translucent in the rain, the moat surface disturbed by falling drops, the surrounding ancient trees dark with moisture. Hagiwara's treatment of the castle in rain used his sosaku-hanga technique to capture the castle's combination of architectural grandeur and the softening, equalizing effect of heavy summer rain.