Kasuga-chô, Kumamoto, from the series Selected Views of Japan (Nihon fûkei senshû)

Part of the "Selected Views of Japan" (Nihon fūkei senshū) series published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, this print documents Kasuga-chō, a district of Kumamoto on Kyushu. The series represented one of Hasui's most systematic projects for recording regional scenes across Japan, produced from sketches made during his provincial travels. Kumamoto, historically significant as the castle town of the Hosokawa domain, offered Hasui a mix of traditional machiya streetscapes and castle grounds. A neighborhood scene in Kasuga-chō might depict a quiet lane in rain, a canal reflecting lantern light, or figures beneath umbrellas — the atmospheric conditions Hasui consistently used to transform ordinary urban subjects into vehicles of lyrical mood. The series format imposed a consistent oban size, allowing regional scenes from Kyushu to be displayed alongside views of Nikko or the Japan Alps with equal pictorial weight.