Dusk at Itako

This second version of Hasui's Itako dusk subject is likely a distinct printing state or a composition with a shifted viewpoint along the Suigo canal system. Itako's flat wetland geography — low horizon, broad sky, and reflective water — lent itself to variations in which slight changes in the sky palette, the position of boats or figures, or the degree of twilight rendered produce meaningfully different pictorial moods. Shin-hanga publishers issued multiple runs of popular compositions, and differences between states can range from marginal (recut key blocks producing slightly heavier line weights) to substantial (entirely revised colorways). The Suigo region's scenery, with its canals, flat-bottomed boats, and iris-lined banks, was a recurring subject in Hasui's travel sketching throughout the 1930s and 1940s.