Zaimoku island at Matsushima

A variant of Hasui's Zaimoku Island at Matsushima, this print represents a different printing or edition of the same subject. Matsushima Bay's combination of calm tidal waters and pine-covered rock formations made it among the frequently depicted natural landscapes in Japanese printmaking, with a tradition stretching from the Edo period through the shin-hanga era. Hasui treated the subject in multiple printings, and surviving examples show variation in sky tone, water color, and palette warmth—differences reflecting block condition, colorist decisions between editions, or deliberate seasonal adjustments. The particular quality of Matsushima light, filtered through sea mist or caught at dusk, was central to Hasui's approach to this subject. Such variant printings are standard in the Watanabe Shōzaburō publishing archive and document the extended commercial life of Hasui's designs.