Road to Nikko
by Kawase Hasui
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Ronin Gallery
- Image courtesy of
- Ronin Gallery
Description
The road to Nikko, lined with towering cryptomeria cedars planted in the seventeenth century along the approach to the Toshogu shrine complex, was one of the most dramatic processional landscapes in Japan. Hasui's depiction likely channels the scale of these ancient trees, their straight trunks rising beyond the picture frame to create a vertical corridor of deep shadow and filtered light. The composition emphasizes the perspectival recession of the avenue, with figures or travelers reduced to small accents that reinforce the monumentality of the trees. Printed on large-format oban sheets, the cedar trunks would have been carved with careful attention to surface texture, the dark greens and browns layered across multiple blocks to convey the density of the old-growth forest.
More Prints by Kawase Hasui
More Transportation Prints
Old Tree and Path of the Sun, Shôwa period, dated 1961
Woodblock print
Kyoto: The Palace Wall and the Jômeimon Gate (Kyô, Tsukiji Jômeimon), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
Nanko, from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
unsupported train spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Road to Nikko was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水).
Road to Nikko depicts transportation and travel scenes.