Morning at Beppu

This print depicts the geothermal port town of Beppu on the northeast coast of Kyushu, renowned throughout Japan for its dense concentrations of hot springs and the distinctive columns of steam that rise from the ground year-round. Hasui renders the early morning scene through layered bokashi gradations, contrasting the pale, cool light of dawn with the warm, sulfurous vapor rising from the jigoku pools or bathhouse rooftops. The composition likely includes fishing boats or the harbor waterfront, their reflections fragmented in the dark water. In the shin-hanga tradition, Hasui collaborated with publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō and his team of carvers and printers on washi paper, achieving the delicate tonal transitions that characterize his atmospheric landscapes.