Ryô daisen

Mount Daisen (Daisen-zan) is a 1,729-meter volcano in Tottori Prefecture, the highest peak in the Chūgoku region. The Ryô in the title may indicate a paired or alternate view of the mountain, or refer to the old province name Hōki under which Daisen was historically catalogued. Hiratsuka's print likely renders the mountain's silhouette — sometimes called the Hōki-Fuji for its symmetrical western face — in his black-and-white woodcut technique. The composition probably emphasizes the structural mass of the peak against an open sky or surrounding plain, using carved line to delineate ridges and slopes. Mountain subjects place Hiratsuka in continuity with the [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) tradition that included Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, though his [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) method abandons polychrome registration in favor of monochromatic tonal contrast. He cut, inked, and pulled the impression himself, working [washi](/glossary/washi) against a hand-carved cherry block.