Collection of scenic views of Japan, eastern Japan edition: Matsushima, Futagojima (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen: Matsushima Futagojima)
by Kawase Hasui
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Scholten Japanese Art
by Kawase Hasui
Futagojima (Twin Islands) designates a pair of pine-covered islets within Matsushima Bay in Miyagi Prefecture, one of Japan's three celebrated views (nihon sankei). Hasui returned to Matsushima repeatedly throughout his career, drawn to the visual complexity of the bay's hundreds of small islands, each supporting wind-shaped pines that had been subjects of poetry and painting since the Heian period. By focusing on Futagojima specifically, this print from the eastern Japan edition takes a more intimate view than panoramic bay compositions, placing the paired islands at center with the surrounding sea and sky as their frame. The twisted pine silhouettes—their forms determined by salt winds off the Pacific—would have required careful line carving to suggest organic irregularity within the precision of the woodblock medium. Printing the subtle variations in shallow water over pale sand versus deeper channel water demanded close registration across multiple pigment passes. The site's association with Matsuo Basho's 1689 journey added literary resonance to a subject already freighted with aesthetic tradition.
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Collection of scenic views of Japan, eastern Japan edition: Matsushima, Futagojima (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen: Matsushima Futagojima) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水).
Yes — Collection of scenic views of Japan, eastern Japan edition: Matsushima, Futagojima (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen: Matsushima Futagojima) is part of the Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition series by Kawase Hasui.
Collection of scenic views of Japan, eastern Japan edition: Matsushima, Futagojima (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen: Matsushima Futagojima) depicts famous places (meisho-e).
