Shinakawabashi at Handa Owari, Shinkawabata, Bishu

Handa in Owari Province (present-day Aichi Prefecture, also historically called Bishu) was a prosperous sake-brewing town known for its canal system along the Shin River. The Shinkawabashi (New River Bridge) crossed this commercial waterway in the town center. This print, one of at least two Hasui designs of the subject, depicts the canal and bridge in a manner consistent with his urban waterway views: storehouses with white plaster walls and dark tile roofs reflected in still or gently moving water, a bridge spanning the foreground or middle distance. The sake breweries of Handa, some dating to the Edo period, would have provided architecturally substantial warehouse forms well-suited to Hasui's geometric treatment of building silhouettes.