Suhara, Kiso, from the series Selected Views of Japan (Nihon fûkei senshû)

Suhara is a post-town along the Kiso Valley in Nagano Prefecture, historically one of the stations of the Nakasendo highway that connected Edo with Kyoto through the mountains of central Honshu. This print, from the series 'Selected Views of Japan' (Nihon fûkei senshû), depicts the Kiso River valley landscape around Suhara—likely a view of the river cutting through cedar-forested slopes, with traditional wooden architecture visible along the bank. The Kiso Valley's dramatic topography, narrow river gorge, and preserved Edo-period townscape made it a productive subject for shin-hanga artists seeking landscapes with both scenic grandeur and historical resonance. Hasui's series format allowed him to survey the breadth of Japan's regional scenery, and the Kiso compositions tend toward vertical formats that capture the vertiginous relationship between the river below and the forested ridgelines above. Color is typically cool, reflecting the valley's altitude and dense shade.