Cincinnati II

This woodblock print from an edition of one hundred portrays the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, marking it as the second in a series of at least two Cincinnati views. The "II" designation indicates Matsubara found enough visual interest in the Ohio River city to warrant multiple treatments. Cincinnati's hilly terrain, where steep streets climb from the riverfront past nineteenth-century commercial buildings to the residential heights above, provides topographic drama that Matsubara could exploit with her bold carving style. The edition size of one hundred is relatively large for a mokuhanga print, suggesting this was intended for broad distribution. The print documents Matsubara's engagement with the American landscape beyond her Boston home base, recording a Midwestern river city through the lens of Japanese woodblock technique.