Rain scenes are Hasui's second most desirable atmospheric category, carrying a 20–40% premium over comparable clear-weather subjects. Rainy Season, Shinagawa (1931) sold for $4,375 at Christie's Online (2020). The bokashi gradation technique used for rain effects demands superior impressions — well-preserved sky gradations add significantly to value, while faded examples lose much of their impact. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Spring rain at Benkei Bridge in Tokyo — named for the legendary warrior monk — falls on this April 1936 print, the bridge over the Tameike reservoir in Akasaka just visible through diagonal rain streaks. The harusame (spring rain) is a lighter, more poetic form of precipitation than autumn and winter rain in the Japanese seasonal vocabulary, and Hasui's palette for spring rain was accordingly softer. The bridge's reflection in the rain-pocked reservoir water gives the composition its vertical anchor.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Spring Rain at Benkei Bridge was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in April 1936.
Spring Rain at Benkei Bridge was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (April 1936).
Spring Rain at Benkei Bridge depicts landscapes, spring, and bridges.
Spring Rain at Benkei Bridge measures 34.5 × 24.5 cm (Oban format).
