Snow at Itsukushima (Itsukushima no yuki)

The formal Japanese title Itsukushima no yuki — snow at Itsukushima — indicates this print was issued as part of a named series, where dual-language titles were standard practice in shin-hanga publishing. This composition likely represents one of Hasui's most considered treatments of the subject, possibly the earliest in a sequence that companion versions followed. The o-torii gate dominates the composition, rendered in vermillion with snow on the upper kasagi crossbeam, rising from water toward a sky in graduated cold tones. Miyajima's wooded mountain slopes frame the upper background in muted blue-green or blue-gray. The composition balances the vertical mass of the torii against the horizontal sweep of water and sky, a formal tension Hasui exploited across many shrine subjects. The print belongs to the category of meisho-e depicting Japan's three celebrated views, situating an iconic religious landmark within the shin-hanga framework of seasonal atmospheric landscape. The Watanabe or Doi publishing house would have produced multiple print runs from the original blocks.