Rain on Lake Matsue — 湖？の雨（松江）

The first printing of Rain on Lake Matsue establishes the composition that subsequent states would replicate: a view of one of the lakes surrounding Matsue city in Shimane Prefecture, rendered under overcast skies and falling rain. Matsue's castle and surrounding landscape attracted both domestic travelers and Western visitors during the Meiji and Taisho eras, making it a natural subject for Hasui's regional survey prints. The lakeside setting typically features horizontal water planes, shoreline vegetation, and possibly distant hills dissolving into mist. First impressions carry the fullest tonal range, with bokashi gradations in the sky moving from deep cool gray to a lighter zone just above the waterline, and the lake surface rendered with multiple color blocks to suggest depth and reflection. Watanabe Shozaburo's studio produced these prints on high-quality handmade washi, essential for absorbing the multiple pigment layers without feathering.