Bamboo Forest, Tama River

The Tama River flows westward from the Okutama mountains through the western suburbs of Tokyo before emptying into Tokyo Bay. Hasui returned to this subject across multiple compositions, drawn by the bamboo groves that line sections of the river's sandy banks. Bamboo (take) presented the woodblock carver with a demanding task: each slender culm and narrow leaf required precise knife work in the key block to achieve the characteristic feathery lightness of a bamboo stand. The composition likely shows the grove in middle distance, with the river partially visible behind or below it, the image organized around the contrast between the vertical rhythm of bamboo stems and the horizontal movement of water. As one of several versions of this subject, this impression may represent a later printing of an established block.