Morning At Tsuchiura

This second recorded variant of the Tsuchiura no asa (Morning at Tsuchiura) design shows Hasui's composition of Lake Kasumigaura at dawn with variation in one or more key printing elements distinguishing it from the primary impression. Lake Kasumigaura's flat shoreline, expansive water, and characteristic hobiki-bune sailing vessels made Tsuchiura one of the most visually distinctive locations in Hasui's lake and coastal series. In a subject built primarily from sky, water, and silhouetted vessels, even minor shifts in the bokashi gradation or the saturation of the indigo sky block significantly alter the mood of the image — the difference between a pre-dawn composition in cold blue-gray and a warmer, amber-inflected dawn. The Watanabe atelier produced multiple states of popular designs to meet sustained demand, and the Tsuchiura morning view was among the atelier's most requested prints. Hasui made preparatory sketches at the lake and refined the composition in the studio before the design was transferred to carved woodblocks for production.