Spring Rain at Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon no harusame)
by Kawase Hasui
by Kawase Hasui
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. Postwar lifetime editions (1946–1957) bearing the small 6mm J-seal represent authentic lifetime impressions but from the artist's final decade.
Spring rain at Sakurada Gate falls on the outer Imperial Palace compound in this 1952 print, the stone gate and moat transformed by harusame into a soft-edged scene of wet stone and glassy water. The gate is one of Tokyo's most historic architectural landmarks, and spring rain brought it a gentle quality absent from its winter snow and autumn clear-day appearances. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations in the sky and water build the layered atmospheric depth of a grey spring downpour.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Spring Rain at Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon no harusame) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1952.
Spring Rain at Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon no harusame) uses Bokashi, on color woodblock print.
Spring Rain at Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon no harusame) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1952).
Spring Rain at Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon no harusame) depicts spring, architecture, and rain.
