Harusamean, near Kaminoyama

This print portrays Harusamean, a small thatched structure (the -an suffix denotes a hermitage or rustic retreat) situated near the hot-spring town of Kaminoyama in Yamagata Prefecture. The composition likely centers on a low, irregularly roofed building set among trees and surrounding hills, a vernacular subject that places it within Tokuriki's broader meisho-e survey of Japan's regional landscapes outside his native Kyoto. Such country subjects allowed for restrained palettes and extensive use of bokashi to model the soft, atmospheric quality of mountain valleys and snow-bearing terrain typical of the Tohoku region. Tokuriki's handling of these provincial scenes drew on the conventions of both shin-hanga landscape masters and sosaku-hanga's more personal, sketch-derived approach. Working over a career that produced an estimated five thousand prints, he frequently traveled outside Kyoto on commission and on personal documentation projects, building a corpus of regional views that recorded vernacular architecture and seasonal mood. The subdued subject contrasts with his more familiar temple and Mount Fuji series.