Crescent Moon at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [mikkazuki]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel III (Tabi miyage dai sanshû)

From the third installment of Hasui's "Souvenirs of Travel" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu) series, this print depicts Matsue, the castle town on Lake Shinji in Shimane Prefecture (formerly Izumo Province), under a mikkazuki — a three-day crescent moon. Matsue castle, one of Japan's few surviving original keeps, would likely anchor the composition, possibly reflected in the Ohashi River or the lake's still surface. Hasui excelled at crescent-moon nocturnes: the thin lunar arc required precise carving in the key block, while the surrounding night sky was rendered with graded bokashi from deep indigo at the horizon to near-black at the zenith. The "Souvenirs of Travel" series documented Hasui's sketching journeys through provincial Japan, and the Izumo region's association with ancient Shinto mythology added cultural resonance to this atmospheric meisho-e subject.