Dragonhead waterfall

Dragonhead Waterfall (Ryūzu-no-taki) is the cascade on the Yukawa River near Lake Chūzenji in Nikkō, where the falling water splits around a central rock said to resemble a dragon's head. Koizumi likely renders it in a tall vertical format suited to falling water, with the divided streams traced through fine carved keyblock lines and bokashi gradations describing the foam and mist at the base. Surrounding rocks and seasonal foliage -- maples are the established accompaniment in autumn -- frame the cascade. While outside Tokyo proper, Nikkō was a regular subject for shin-hanga landscape designers, and Koizumi periodically worked beyond his Dai Tokyo Hyakkei project to record nationally significant meisho. As with all his prints, the design, carving, and printing were his own work, distinguishing the sheet from contemporaneous Watanabe-published shin-hanga waterfall scenes which divided those tasks among specialists.