Snow At Shiba Park, Tokyo

The fourth recorded composition or printing state in the Tokyo-titled Shiba Park series reflects the sustained commercial and artistic interest Hasui and his publisher Watanabe Shozaburo maintained in this subject across decades of production. Multiple states of a successful print design were common in the shin-hanga industry, arising from both planned reprints to meet demand and from Hasui's practice of issuing revised designs on subjects he had treated earlier. This impression may differ from related states in the condition of the carved woodblocks — wear on the key-block accumulating across many printings — or in deliberate alterations to the color palette. Shiba Park under snow offered a composition that balanced the static weight of accumulated snow with the linear energy of bare tree branches, a pairing Hasui used to organize tonal contrast across the picture surface. The print's probable oban format and the typical Watanabe production standards would ensure consistent washi paper quality and precise color registration.