Waterfall

A study of falling water within Koizumi's broader landscape practice, the print likely depicts one of the cascades in the mountains west of Tokyo — sites such as Otaki, Hossawa, or Nunobiki that drew printmakers throughout the Edo and modern periods. Waterfalls present a particular technical challenge in mokuhanga: the white sheet of falling water must be reserved through registration, then surrounded by the carved keyblock and color blocks that define the rock face, vegetation, and pool below. Koizumi's solution would have applied [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradation across the rock surfaces and the spray at the base, leaving the falling water as untouched [washi](/glossary/washi) to convey luminosity. As a [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) practitioner, he carved every block himself, which gave him direct control over the keyblock lines that articulate the water's movement and the rocks' striations. The waterfall subject sits within a long [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) tradition extending through Hokusai's Waterfalls of Various Provinces of c. 1833, but Koizumi's handling reflects his individual carving and printing methods rather than collaborative studio production.