Snow at Sekiguchi

This print depicts the Sekiguchi district of Tokyo's Bunkyo ward, an area Hasui returned to across multiple editions, drawn by its combination of stone embankments, canal waterways, and overhanging trees. A third recorded state of this composition, it likely reflects refinements in color registration or bokashi gradation applied to the sky or water surfaces across successive printings by publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. Sekiguchi was notable for the Kanda River and the paths along Chinzan-so garden, which provided Hasui with quiet, residential-scale scenery rather than monumental landmarks. In compositions of this type, fallen and falling snow accumulates on horizontal surfaces — stone copings, branch forks, tile caps — while a cool blue-grey wash describes overcast winter sky. The layered printing technique of shin-hanga allowed gradual tonal transitions across broad areas, giving the snowfall atmosphere a weight and humidity that distinguishes Hasui's winter scenes from those of his contemporaries.