Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura)
Shirakawajoshi no sakura
by Kawase Hasui
Shirakawajoshi no sakura
by Kawase Hasui
Cherry blossom scenes have universal appeal and steady demand across all levels of the Hasui market. Pre-war lifetime editions with the Watanabe copyright seal command the strongest premiums. Combinations of cherry blossoms with other premium subjects (night scenes, rain, Tokyo landmarks) approach the pricing of those premium categories. Postwar lifetime editions (1946–1957) bearing the small 6mm J-seal represent authentic lifetime impressions but from the artist's final decade.
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins, published in 1946, depicts the earthwork and stone remnants of Shirakawa Castle in Fukushima Prefecture — a castle demolished in the early Meiji period — transformed in spring by the flowering cherry trees planted among its ruins. The castle ruins as cherry blossom viewing site is a characteristically Japanese aesthetic: the overlay of ephemeral beauty on the ruins of former power, the [sakura](/glossary/sakura)'s brief perfection contrasting with the permanence of stone and earth. The 1946 publication date — the first year of postwar civilian life — gives this celebration of spring renewal an added poignancy.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1946.
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on color woodblock print.
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1946).
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) depicts castles and cherry blossoms, set at Shirakawa.
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura) measures 36.3 × 24.6 cm (Oban format).
