Unzen Peak, Hizen
by Kawase Hasui
- Date:
- 1926
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
by Kawase Hasui
Edition period is the primary value driver for Hasui prints. Pre-war lifetime editions with the Watanabe copyright seal (A through D types) consistently achieve 3–5× the price of posthumous reprints of the same design. Condition is the second key factor — unfaded colors, full margins, and absence of foxing or staining are essential. Subject matter (snow > rain > night > other) provides a further modifier within each edition tier.
Unzen Peak in Hizen Province (Nagasaki Prefecture) is a cluster of volcanic summits rising above the Shimabara Peninsula, their slopes covered in azalea flowers (famous as Japan's largest wild azalea garden) and their summits frequently in cloud. This 1926 woodblock print shows the volcanic peaks from a distance, the characteristic cloud-capped summits of Unzen visible across the Ariake Sea or from a point on the peninsula. The volcanic landscape gave Hasui an unusually dramatic mountain subject in western Japan.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Unzen Peak, Hizen was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1926.
Unzen Peak, Hizen was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1926).
Unzen Peak, Hizen depicts mountains.
