Morning at the Hot-spring Resort in Arayu, Shiobara (Yuyado no asa [Shiobara Arayu])

Arayu is one of the hot spring hamlets (onsen) within the Shiobara resort area of Tochigi Prefecture, set in a deep mountain gorge along the Houki River. In this print, Yuyado no asa (Morning at the Hot Spring Inn), the subject is the ryokan inn itself in early light — a subject type with distinctive visual elements: the wooden architecture of the inn, low-lying steam rising from the baths or river, and the dense cedar and cryptomeria forest pressing close on the valley slopes. The gorge setting would constrain the sky zone to a narrow strip at the top of the composition, giving the print a sense of enclosure characteristic of mountain onsen imagery. Shiobara attracted visitors from Tokyo and was accessible by rail from the late Meiji period onward, making it a natural destination for Hasui's travel sketching. The steam, humid air, and forest shadow of the hot spring environment required subtle color management in printing to suggest atmosphere without muddying the washi surface. This print likely dates to the 1920s or 1930s as part of Hasui's regional landscape documentation.