Lake Shibayama in Kaga

Lake Shibayama in the Kaga region of Ishikawa Prefecture is the subject of this oban woodblock print. Ito Takashi renders the lake's still surface as a mirror for surrounding vegetation and sky, using multiple printing passes to achieve the translucent layering that distinguishes reflected color from direct color. The Kaga region, on the Japan Sea coast, offered Ito landscapes with a different quality of light and atmosphere than the Pacific-facing views that dominated mainstream shin-hanga production. The lake sits in relatively flat terrain, giving the composition a low horizon line and expansive sky that Ito fills with carefully graded tonal transitions. This emphasis on horizontal calm and reflected light places the print among Ito's most contemplative works, where the subject is less the place itself than the quality of stillness that the place contains.