Shikishiwagarawa, Maebashi

Maebashi, the castle city in Gunma Prefecture along the Tone River basin, provides the setting for this riverscape. The Shikishiwa River (possibly the Hirose River or a local waterway) would have been a working waterway in Hasui's era, and he likely depicted it in a manner consistent with his urban river views: stone embankments or earthen banks, low bridges, townscape silhouettes, and reflective water. The print may capture a winter or autumn scene, given Hasui's preference for seasons that reduce color complexity and emphasize tonal structure. The flat terrain of the Kanto Plain around Maebashi would produce a low horizon with considerable sky, allowing for the graduated atmospheric printing that defines his landscape aesthetic.