Autumn Garden

Hasui occasionally turned from the broad [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) landscape tradition to more intimate garden subjects, and this print likely depicts a formal Japanese garden viewed in the season of koyo, the autumn color change. The composition may center on a stone lantern, pond surface, or covered walkway partially obscured by maples. Hasui was trained under Kaburagi Kiyokata in nihonga figure painting before shifting to landscape printmaking under the influence of Hiroshi Yoshida's success with [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) publishers; his garden prints reflect this training in their sensitivity to contained, layered spatial recession. The muted palette typical of autumn garden subjects — subdued green moss, amber foliage, grey stone — demanded careful color separation and delicate [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations from the carver and printer. Such prints tend toward a quieter, more contemplative register than Hasui's open coastal or mountain landscapes.