Kozu, Osaka

This impression of Hasui's Kozu, Osaka composition is one of several known printings of the same woodblock design. In shin-hanga production, the original cherry-wood blocks carved from Hasui's watercolor sketch could yield impressions across an extended period, sometimes spanning years under the Watanabe imprint. Differences between impression states may include variations in sky color, the depth of bokashi gradation across the water surface, or minor shifts in ink saturation. Kozu, now part of Chūō Ward, was a recognizable Osaka landmark whose ancient shrine and surrounding neighborhood remained familiar to residents and travelers alike. The horizontal character of Osaka's townscape—flat terrain, low buildings, canal reflections—offered compositional challenges distinct from Hasui's many mountain and coastal prints. Printmakers applied water-based pigments to multiple woodblocks in sequence, requiring precise kento mark registration to align each successive color pass on the absorbent washi ground.