Sailboat at Yashima

Yashima is a flat-topped plateau in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, on the Seto Inland Sea, and its coastal waters have historically been crossed by traditional sailing craft. This print likely positions one or more vessels — possibly flat-bottomed cargo boats or single-masted fishing craft — in the foreground, with the distinctive horizontal mass of the Yashima tableland visible in the background across open water. A second impression of this design may show variation in the rendering of water movement through repeated diagonal or horizontal line-cutting patterns, or in the treatment of the sky's color field. Hasui's coastal compositions convey the specific quality of light on the Inland Sea, distinct from his Pacific and Japan Sea subjects.