Cormorant Fishing on Nagaragawa — 鵜飼（長良川）

The fourth catalogued version of Hasui's Nagaragawa cormorant fishing subject documents the recurring demand for this nocturnal river scene within the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) print market. Across multiple impressions of this composition, Hasui's design captures the ancient ukai practice — leashed cormorants fishing by torchlight from narrow wooden boats — in a palette built around deep indigo water, warm amber fire-basket glow, and the dense blacks of bird silhouettes. The Nagara River at Gifu, where ukai has been practiced under imperial patronage since at least the Nara period, provided Hasui with a subject that combined dramatic nighttime lighting effects with cultural specificity. Differences between this and related impressions would likely be detectable in the rendering of water movement beneath the prow and the gradation of reflected torchlight across the river surface.