Belltower At Okayama

This print likely represents the primary edition of Hasui's Okayama bell tower composition, depicting the timber kanetuki-dō that served to announce hours and events in the Edo-period city. Hasui recorded this structure during travels through western Japan as part of his sustained effort to document traditional architecture before modernization erased it—a project central to the shin-hanga movement's nostalgic and preservationist impulse. The composition characteristically places the structure against open sky with graduated bokashi gradations above, establishing atmospheric mood through tonal transition rather than narrative detail. Stone steps, nearby trees, or glimpsed rooflines at ground level situate the tower within its urban setting without crowding the composition. Published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, the print exemplifies the collaborative production model in which Hasui's sketched design passed through specialist block-cutters and printers before reaching the finished impression.