Lake Matsubara on a Morning, Shinshu

A second impression or edition of Hasui's Lake Matsubara morning composition, this print shares the same underlying keyblock design as related variants but may differ in colorway, bokashi gradation, or printing season. Hasui's Shinshu landscapes from the 1920s frequently depicted mountain lakes in transitional light conditions, and the Matsubara subject was evidently among his more requested compositions. The still lake surface serves as the dominant compositional element, with reflections of sky and shoreline vegetation doubling the vertical space. Pine trees characteristic of the Matsubara shoreline appear in silhouette against the graduated sky. Differences between numbered variants of this title may include the warmth of the sky tones, the depth of the water color, or the presence of mist along the far shore. Shin-hanga prints of this period were produced in multiple print runs, and each run could involve different artisan woodblock carvers and printers, resulting in prints that share a design but differ in subtle technical execution across impressions.