Temple and shrine subjects form the backbone of Hasui's rural Japan repertoire — steady, consistently popular categories that hold value across all market conditions. Snow at temple subjects command the highest premiums (Snow at Tosho-gu Shrine in Ueno achieved $3,200 at Artelino; Saishoin Temple in the Snow reached $3,000). Standard pre-war temple scenes without snow trade between $1,000–$3,500. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Chuzenji Utagahama, published in 1931, depicts the beach at Utagahama — the sandy shore along the northern edge of Lake Chuzenji in the Nikko highlands — where the clear, ice-cold mountain lake meets a graveled foreshore backed by forested peaks. Lake Chuzenji at over 1,000 meters elevation was a popular summer resort destination for foreign diplomats and Japanese intellectuals escaping Tokyo's heat, and its European-style villas along the shores gave the scene a slightly cosmopolitan quality unusual in Hasui's catalog. The [oban](/glossary/oban) format gives the composition room to develop the lake's wide horizontal expanse against the surrounding mountain backdrop.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Chuzenji, Utagahama (Chuzenji Utagahama) (Chuzenji Utagahama) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1931.
Chuzenji, Utagahama (Chuzenji Utagahama) uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on color woodblock print; oban.
Chuzenji, Utagahama (Chuzenji Utagahama) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1931).
Chuzenji, Utagahama (Chuzenji Utagahama) depicts landscapes, rivers & lakes, and mountains, set at Lake Chuzenji.
Chuzenji, Utagahama (Chuzenji Utagahama) measures 25.5 × 38.9 cm (Oban format).
