Izu Irozaki lighthouse

Cape Irozaki at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula is a volcanic headland topped by a lighthouse first established in the Meiji period and rebuilt over its history. The print likely depicts the structure perched on its cliff, a subject suited to Hiratsuka's high-contrast mokuhanga method—a white tower set against dark sea and rock, or its inverse, exploiting the drama of the silhouette. Coastal lighthouses recur throughout Japanese sosaku-hanga as markers of Meiji modernization, and Hiratsuka treated the Izu coastline at multiple points across his career. His method of carving and printing each block himself preserves the chisel's mark across the black areas, distinguishing the work from shin-hanga depictions of similar coastal subjects produced through publisher-led collaboration. The print belongs to a broader Izu group that includes hot springs, fishing villages, and rocky shorelines from across the peninsula.