Akita, Omonogawa

This second variant of Hasui's Omonogawa composition revisits the Omono River in Akita Prefecture, likely representing a later printing run with discernible differences in the sky gradation or the tonal weight of the river surface. The Omono is Tōhoku's most significant agricultural waterway, and its broad, unhurried character across the flat Dewa Plain provided Hasui with material for a landscape mode distinct from his more turbulent gorge or coastal subjects. Comparison between this and the primary edition may reveal shifts in the blue-grey register of the water, the handling of distant mountains or embankment vegetation, or the depth of the overcast sky. Such variant printings were common in Watanabe's workshop as blocks wore and were re-carved or as color schemes were adjusted between editions to respond to shifting market preferences. The two Omonogawa impressions together illustrate the workshop's practice of issuing successive editions of successful regional landscape designs across the lifespan of a popular composition.