Okutama in Rain

Okutama, the mountainous district at the western edge of Tokyo Prefecture where the Tama River cuts through steep forested valleys, was a recurring subject in Hasui's landscape work. Rain compositions were among his most technically demanding achievements, requiring the printer to render falling water as diagonal streaks across already complex background passages — forests, river surfaces, and mist-laden peaks. In this print, vertical rain lines would have been printed from a dedicated block, crossing sky, water, and foliage areas simultaneously to unify the scene beneath a single atmospheric condition. The narrow valleys of Okutama, where cedar and cypress crowd close to the river, lend themselves to the kind of deep perspectival recession Hasui structured through tonal gradation. Wet stone, glistening foliage, and the flattened reflections of a rain-pocked river surface were all effects he achieved through the interaction of multiple color blocks and controlled bokashi.