Kegon waterfall, Nikko

Kegon Falls drops nearly one hundred meters from Lake Chuzenji into a basalt gorge in the mountains above Nikko. Kasamatsu renders this vertical descent in [oban](/glossary/oban) tate-e format, using [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradation along the curtain of falling water to suggest spray and the differential between brightly lit upper cascade and shadowed pool below. The surrounding cliff face is built up through key-block linework printed in gray and brown, with vegetation concentrated in greens at the rim. Such waterfall studies belong to Kasamatsu's interest in single natural motifs treated atmospherically rather than as topographical record. The print sits within the broader [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) tradition of depicting famous Japanese sites, but Kasamatsu's handling — emphasizing the falling water as a tonal event rather than as an icon of place — relates to the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) aim of refreshing classical subjects through observed light. Nikko had been a print subject since the Edo period.