Fourth National Athletic Meeting — 第４回国体・水泳(夏季)

This print, titled in Japanese as 第４回国体・水泳(夏季) — indicating the Fourth National Athletic Meeting's swimming event held in summer — depicts competitive swimming at the 1949 Kokutai. The subtitle identifies this as covering the summer swimming competition specifically, suggesting the print was part of a series documenting different sports or events within the meeting. A swimming competition scene in Hasui's woodblock medium would require rendering water and athletic figures in motion, subjects somewhat removed from his usual meditative landscapes. The summer light on an outdoor pool or natural water venue, the geometry of lane markers or starting blocks, and the figures of swimmers could all be treated with the same attention to atmospheric light visible in his landscapes. As a historically specific document, the print records the revival of national athletic culture in the early postwar period.