Edition period is the primary value driver for Hasui prints. Pre-war lifetime editions with the Watanabe copyright seal (A through D types) consistently achieve 3–5× the price of posthumous reprints of the same design. Condition is the second key factor — unfaded colors, full margins, and absence of foxing or staining are essential. Subject matter (snow > rain > night > other) provides a further modifier within each edition tier.
Mito on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture is a small harbor town where the Izu Mito (three rivers) meet the sea, its fishing boats and stone piers set against the Pacific-facing cliffs of the peninsula. Hasui's 1930 print likely shows the harbor in a quiet season, the enclosed bay with its characteristic combination of dramatic headlands and calm inner water. The Izu Peninsula's Pacific coast had a warmer, more subtropical character than the Tokaido coast to its north.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Mito, Izu (Izu no Mito) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1930.
Mito, Izu (Izu no Mito) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1930).
Mito, Izu (Izu no Mito) depicts landscapes, boats & ships, and seascapes.
