Late Autumn at Lake Yamanaka

Lake Yamanaka, the easternmost of the Fuji Five Lakes in Yamanashi Prefecture, offered Hasui one of the closest and most open views of Mount Fuji across open water. Late autumn at this altitude—approximately 980 meters—would bring bare larch trees, frost, and the snow-covered summit of Fuji fully visible above the treeline. Hasui's composition likely positions the viewer at the lake's edge, with the water occupying the foreground and lower middle ground while Mount Fuji, perhaps partially snow-capped, anchors the upper register. The autumn foliage—rust and gold in mid-autumn, stripped to bare branches in late autumn—forms a transitional band between water and sky. Tonal gradation in the mountain's surface, moving from white snow through grey rock to the darkened base, was achieved through successive bokashi passes. This impression is a second state or later print run of the Lake Yamanaka late-autumn design, possibly with minor variation in sky tonality or ink density compared to the primary impression.