Great buddha at Kamakura

Hasui returned to the Kotoku-in Daibutsu at Kamakura across multiple designs throughout his career, responding to the colossal bronze Amida figure — cast in 1252 and standing approximately 11.3 meters — under varying seasonal and atmospheric conditions. In this version, the composition likely positions the statue against a sky rendered through careful gradation of color, with the foreground possibly including the stone stairway, surrounding cedars, or seasonal foliage. Hasui's treatment of the Kamakura Buddha typically emphasizes the quiet monumentality of the figure set within its open-air precinct, the wooden hall that once enclosed it having been destroyed in the fifteenth century. The broad shoulders and downcast eyes of the seated Amida provide a stable anchor for the composition. Printed on washi using multiple woodblocks, the tonal subtlety of the sky would have been achieved through bokashi gradation applied with a moistened baren during each impression.