Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai)
by Kawase Hasui
by Kawase Hasui
From Hasui's Eight Views of Korea or Korean Views Supplement — among his rarest subjects geographically. Korean landscapes represent a small but dedicated collecting niche, with particular interest from Korean and Korean-American buyers as well as scholars of Japanese colonial-era art. These prints are substantially rarer at auction than his Japanese subjects and can command unexpected premiums when the right buyer is present. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Modan Viewpoint at Pyongyang, published in 1940 as part of the Korean Views Supplement (Zoku Chosen fukei), depicts Botandai (Peony Terrace) — the famous overlook above the Taedong River at the center of Pyongyang, then the largest city in the northern part of the Korean peninsula under Japanese administration. Botandai had been a celebrated viewpoint for centuries, offering a panoramic view of the river bending below wooded bluffs. Hasui's 1940 composition, with its characteristic [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) sky, translates the terrace's sweeping river vista into the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) idiom, capturing the parklike atmosphere of this ancient scenic overlook.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1940.
Yes — Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai) is part of the Korean Views Supplement series (print 2) by Kawase Hasui.
Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai) uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on color woodblock print.
Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1940).
Modan Viewpoint, Pyongyang, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Heijo Botandai) measures 24.5 × 36.3 cm (Oban format).
