Nara

This fourth design in Hasui's Nara series likely presents one of the ancient capital's canonical views—deer in the parkland of Nara, the silhouette of Kofukuji's five-story pagoda, or one of the great halls of Todaiji seen across an expanse of flat lawn under a distinctive seasonal light. Nara held particular importance as a subject for the shin-hanga movement because its intact seventh- and eighth-century architecture, sacred deer, and broad open landscape offered imagery unavailable elsewhere in Japan. Multiple Nara prints from Hasui suggest he returned to the city in different seasons and at different hours, each excursion yielding a distinct compositional solution. The handling of the flat Yamato Basin light, brighter and more direct than the mist-softened atmospheres of his mountain prints, required a different palette and a more decisive use of the keyblock contour line.