Moon over Kiyosumi Garden

Kiyosumi Teien (Kiyosumi Garden) in Koto ward, Tokyo, is a traditional pond garden established in the Meiji period on land once belonging to a wealthy merchant. Its central feature is a large irregular pond surrounded by carefully placed stones, some transported from regions across Japan by boat. This print depicts the garden under moonlight, with the pond's surface reflecting the moon's glow and the silhouettes of pines and sculptural stones at its edges. Hasui's treatment of the water — layered grey and blue bokashi printing with pale reserved areas for the moon's reflection — creates the quiet luminosity characteristic of his garden nocturnes. The eighth impression in this group may show slight variation in the sky gradation or stone coloring from earlier runs. The garden's reputation as a place of composed beauty made it a natural subject for Hasui's contemplative landscape aesthetic.