Lake Chuzenji
- Medium:
- Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
- Image courtesy of
- Saru Gallery
A view of Lake Chuzenji, the volcanic lake at the foot of Mount Nantai in Nikko, formed when an eruption dammed the Daiya River. Koizumi likely renders the lake's reflective surface and surrounding wooded slopes using [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations that shift the water from indigo at the depths to paler tones near the shore. The composition places terrain in dialogue with stillness, a recurring concern across his topographic views. Although Koizumi is associated above all with the One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo (Dai Tokyo Hyakkei, 1928-1940), he extended the documentary impulse of that series to mountain destinations such as Nikko, applying the same self-cut blocks and hand-rubbed [baren](/glossary/baren) printing on [washi](/glossary/washi). The print sits within the synthesis at the heart of his practice: [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) subject matter handled under the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) insistence that the artist remain sole designer, carver, and printer of every block.
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
![Kiba Lumberyard along the River at Fukugawa (New Edition) [Fukagawa-ku, kiba no kawasuji (shinpan)], from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)" by Kishio Koizumi](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/f6380c15-6d23-c26a-899d-08ead4db792b/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
1940
Color woodblock print; oban
Nikko Chuzenjiko
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Niigata Gosaibori
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Lake Chuzenji was created by Kishio Koizumi (小泉癸巳男).
Lake Chuzenji depicts rivers & lakes.