Lake Kawaguchi

Hasui's multiple treatments of Lake Kawaguchi (Kawaguchi-ko) vary not only by season but by the particular stretch of shoreline selected as the viewpoint. The village of Kawaguchi on the eastern shore offered different compositional angles than the western side at Funatsu, and some Kawaguchi-ko prints incorporate village architecture — thatched rooftops or boat sheds — rather than pure landscape elements. This version may show autumn foliage reflected alongside the mountain, as the surrounding forests of Kawaguchi-ko turn deep red and yellow in late October and November. The shin-hanga palette for autumn compositions expanded to include warm ochres, burnt oranges, and crimson beside the cooler blues and greens of mountain and water. Hasui rendered foliage in woodblock by carving individual leaf-mass outlines into the key block and filling them with layered color blocks, a technique demanding precise registration to maintain the organic character of tree silhouettes. The resulting image captures the seasonal character of the Fuji Five Lakes district with the documentary attention that defines Hasui's approach to the Japanese landscape.