Ocean View of ôhara

This print depicts the coastline at Ōhara, the seaside locality on the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, a subject that recurs in Hiratsuka's seascape work. The composition organizes around the horizontal division of sky, sea, and shore, with rocks, breakers, and fishing boats carved as silhouetted black masses against the pale [washi](/glossary/washi). Hiratsuka's monochrome approach suits coastal subjects: the contrast between deep black and unprinted white registers wave action and the play of light on water without recourse to pigment. The angular carving—facets of black laid against curved tide lines—belongs to the planar style Hiratsuka developed from the 1930s onward, distinct from both the atmospheric seascapes of [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga), such as Kawase Hasui's coastal scenes, and the polychromy of traditional [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e). As one of several Ōhara views in his body of work, this print situates the Bōsō coast within his broader project of documenting Japanese place through the carved block.