Lake Ashinoko in Rain, Hakone

Created in 1929, this color woodblock print shows Lake Ashinoko in the Hakone mountain region under rainfall. The rain transforms the lake's surface into a field of stippled texture, while the surrounding mountains lose their hard edges behind veils of falling water. Ito Takashi uses the oban format to give the scene horizontal breadth, letting the rain unify the composition by imposing a single tonal mood across land, water, and sky. Hakone's volcanic lake, nestled in a caldera surrounded by forested peaks, has been a subject for landscape artists since the Edo period, but Ito's rain-soaked version strips away the touristic clarity of fine-weather views. The 1929 date places this among his earlier shin-hanga works, when he was establishing the rain and snow themes that would recur throughout his career.