The Asano River in Kanazawa (Kanazawa Asanogawa), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshû)

From the Tabi miyage dai isshū (Souvenirs of Travel, First Series), published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, this ōban-format print depicts the Asano River as it passes through Kanazawa, the historic castle city of Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's Sea of Japan coast. The Asano-gawa flows past the Higashi Chaya geisha district, its willow-lined banks and stone embankments forming one of the city's most recognizable riverside scenes. Hasui likely composed the view from a low vantage near the water's edge, the river's surface reflecting sky, willow branches, and the pale tones of the embankment. The Tabi miyage series, Hasui's first major regional documentation project, established his working method of traveling with a sketchbook and translating observed landscapes into shin-hanga compositions emphasizing light, season, and atmospheric mood over topographic precision.