Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond - 夜の池畔（不忍池）

The Japanese title 夜の池畔（不忍池）— Night at the Pond Edge, Shinobazu Pond — specifies Hasui's viewpoint as the immediate margin of the water rather than a distant overview. This perspective draws the viewer into the scene, emphasizing foreground elements such as reeds, lotus stems, or stone edging against the broad reflective surface beyond. Shinobazu Pond's Benzaiten shrine island and its surrounding trees appear as dark masses across the water. The night palette relies on deep indigo and black with carefully controlled bokashi gradation in the sky zone, while small points of light — lanterns or a moon — anchor the composition. This numbered impression is one of several variant printings of the same design, in which the publisher and carvers may have adjusted ink density or color across successive runs. The washi ground lends the dark tones a warmth that photographic reproduction rarely captures.