Shiobara no Aki

Shiobara no Aki ('Shiobara in Autumn') renders the Shiobara gorge district of Tochigi Prefecture during the foliage season—momiji—when deciduous trees among the cryptomeria and pine turn yellow, orange, and red. Autumn was among the most commercially and artistically productive subjects for Hasui: the season demanded complex multi-block printing to achieve the layered chromatic range of Japanese fall foliage. The narrow gorge setting of Shiobara concentrates the color display between steep hillsides, often reflected in the Hoki River below. A characteristic compositional approach places the viewer above or beside the stream, looking into the gorge where the foliage mass creates a dense, tapestry-like field of color against dark rock faces. Small figures or bridges provide scale within the landscape.