Nara Sarusawa Pond

Sarusawa Pond is a small ornamental lake directly south of Kofukuji temple in central Nara, created in 749 and famous primarily as the reflective foreground for the five-story pagoda rising behind its northern bank. This print almost certainly presents the pagoda's reflection in the still water of Sarusawa, a compositional arrangement Hasui and other shin-hanga artists returned to repeatedly because it allowed the tower's form to be experienced both as solid architecture and as shimmering waterborne image. The season—spring with cherry blossoms framing the composition, autumn with maples in color, or a clear winter evening with the pagoda silhouetted against pale sky—would define the print's mood. Reflections in still water demanded that the printer lay down the water color areas with particular care to achieve the slightly softened, luminous quality that distinguishes a true reflection from the solid form above it.