Otsu

A second Ōtsu composition, likely depicting Lake Biwa's southwestern shore under different seasonal or atmospheric conditions from the primary print. Hasui returned repeatedly to lakeside and coastal subjects, exploring how changing weather, season, and time of day transformed familiar locations. Lake Biwa's scale—roughly sixty-seven kilometers from north to south—offered varied compositional options from different positions along the Ōtsu waterfront. This variant may present the lake at dusk, in snow, or under an overcast winter sky, conditions Hasui favored for the subtle tonal range they permitted. The print employs graduated washi printing with bokashi transitions in sky and water areas and precisely cut blocks for architectural or vegetative elements in the foreground, consistent with Watanabe's technical standards for the shin-hanga landscape series.