Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"
Matsushima Futagojima
by Kawase Hasui
Matsushima Futagojima
by Kawase Hasui
From the Collection of Scenic Views of Japan series — Hasui's most extensive documented series, covering regional landscapes across the entire country. These prints document local sites that often saw little representation in earlier ukiyo-e, giving them documentary as well as artistic value. Snow scenes within this collection (like Saishoin Temple in the Snow, $3,000 at Artelino 2023) command significant premiums. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Futago Islands at Matsushima, published in December 1933 as part of the Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition, depicts one of the hundreds of pine-topped islets scattered across Matsushima Bay in Miyagi Prefecture — a landscape long celebrated as one of Japan's three most beautiful views. The Futago ("twins") islands, like their neighbors, are characterized by dramatically eroded volcanic rock formations crowned with wind-shaped pines, and Hasui's [oban](/glossary/oban)-format composition captures the interplay of rock, sea, and sky that makes Matsushima's islet scenery so distinctive. The Eastern Japan Edition series allowed Hasui to systematically document the celebrated landscapes of the Tohoku and Kanto regions.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" (Matsushima Futagojima) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in December 1933.
Yes — Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" is part of the Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition series (print 1) by Kawase Hasui.
Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on color woodblock print.
Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (December 1933).
Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" depicts landscapes and famous places (meisho-e), set at Matsushima.
Futago Islands, Matsushima (Matsushima Futagojima), from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" measures 39 × 26.3 cm (Oban format).
