Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖)
2 prints by 1 artist
About Lake Chuzenji
Lake Chuzenji is a mountain lake in the western part of Nikko, in northwestern Tochigi Prefecture, formed approximately twenty thousand years ago when an eruption of Mount Nantai blocked the headwaters of the Daiya River, creating the lake at its present elevation of 1,269 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest natural lakes in Japan. The lake covers approximately twelve square kilometers and reaches depths in excess of 160 meters, and is surrounded by wooded slopes that turn brilliant red and gold in autumn, especially along the southern and eastern shores. The lake outflows over the Kegon Falls (Kegon-no-taki), which drop 97 meters in a single dramatic column at the lake's eastern edge, with twelve smaller subsidiary falls cascading along the surrounding cliff, forming one of the most celebrated waterfalls in Japan and traditionally counted among the three great waterfalls of the country alongside Nachi Falls in Wakayama and Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki. The surrounding Nikko district was developed as a sacred mountain area from the eighth century onward under the Buddhist priest Shodo Shonin, who is traditionally said to have first ascended Mount Nantai in 782 and to have established the cultic geography that included Lake Chuzenji and the surrounding peaks. Lake Chuzenji and Mount Nantai became major pilgrimage destinations within the Nikko mountain cult, with the small Chuzen-ji temple at the lake's eastern shore (after which the lake takes its name) and the Futarasan Chugu-shi shrine on the lake's southern shore serving as the principal religious sites. From the late Meiji period through the prewar Showa period, Lake Chuzenji served as a summer retreat for the Tokyo diplomatic community and Japanese government officials, with consulate villas, the Italian Embassy summer house (built in 1928 and now operating as a museum), the British Embassy summer house (built in 1896, now also a museum), and a number of Japanese summer villas established on the lake shore, principally on the southern and eastern banks. For Japanese printmaking Lake Chuzenji is most closely associated with the shin-hanga revival of the early twentieth century, when the development of the lake as a summer destination coincided with the renewed interest in landscape print subjects. Kawase Hasui produced multiple views of the lake including snow and autumn compositions, treatments of the Kegon Falls in summer and winter, and views of the surrounding Mount Nantai under varied conditions, with his Chuzenji and Kegon sheets among the most reproduced of his Tochigi subjects. Yoshida Hiroshi included Chuzenji subjects in his Nikko sheets and his individual landscape compositions, treating the lake under different lighting conditions in his characteristic variant-impression practice. Tsuchiya Koitsu, Tokuriki Tomikichiro, and other shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga artists contributed further compositions of the lake and the falls. The visual character of Lake Chuzenji in prints is built on the dark surface of the lake against the surrounding wooded slopes, the broadly symmetrical cone of Mount Nantai rising above the western shore as a recurrent backdrop, the white column of the Kegon Falls dropping into its plunge pool, the brilliant autumn maple of the surrounding hills against the still lake surface, the snow phenomena of the higher elevation in winter, and the small lakeside settlements and torii along the shore. Modern visitors reach the lake via the Iroha-zaka switchback road from Nikko town, a steep ascending and descending pair of roads that pass through dense maple forest, with the lakeside settlements of Chuzenji-onsen and the Kegon Falls observation platform serving as the principal access points and the JR Nikko Line and Tobu Nikko Line linking the area to Tokyo.
Prints Depicting Lake Chuzenji (2)
Artists Who Depicted Lake Chuzenji (1)
Frequently Asked Questions
Lake Chuzenji is a mountain lake in the western part of Nikko, in northwestern Tochigi Prefecture, formed approximately twenty thousand years ago when an eruption of Mount Nantai blocked the headwaters of the Daiya River, creating the lake at its present elevation of 1,269 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest natural lakes in Japan. The lake covers approximately twelve square kilometers and reaches depths in excess of 160 meters, and is surrounded by wooded slopes that turn brilliant red and gold in autumn, especially along the southern and eastern shores. The lake outflows over the Kegon Falls (Kegon-no-taki), which drop 97 meters in a single dramatic column at the lake's eastern edge, with twelve smaller subsidiary falls cascading along the surrounding cliff, forming one of the most celebrated waterfalls in Japan and traditionally counted among the three great waterfalls of the country alongside Nachi Falls in Wakayama and Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki. The surrounding Nikko district was developed as a sacred mountain area from the eighth century onward under the Buddhist priest Shodo Shonin, who is traditionally said to have first ascended Mount Nantai in 782 and to have established the cultic geography that included Lake Chuzenji and the surrounding peaks. Lake Chuzenji and Mount Nantai became major pilgrimage destinations within the Nikko mountain cult, with the small Chuzen-ji temple at the lake's eastern shore (after which the lake takes its name) and the Futarasan Chugu-shi shrine on the lake's southern shore serving as the principal religious sites. From the late Meiji period through the prewar Showa period, Lake Chuzenji served as a summer retreat for the Tokyo diplomatic community and Japanese government officials, with consulate villas, the Italian Embassy summer house (built in 1928 and now operating as a museum), the British Embassy summer house (built in 1896, now also a museum), and a number of Japanese summer villas established on the lake shore, principally on the southern and eastern banks. For Japanese printmaking Lake Chuzenji is most closely associated with the shin-hanga revival of the early twentieth century, when the development of the lake as a summer destination coincided with the renewed interest in landscape print subjects. Kawase Hasui produced multiple views of the lake including snow and autumn compositions, treatments of the Kegon Falls in summer and winter, and views of the surrounding Mount Nantai under varied conditions, with his Chuzenji and Kegon sheets among the most reproduced of his Tochigi subjects. Yoshida Hiroshi included Chuzenji subjects in his Nikko sheets and his individual landscape compositions, treating the lake under different lighting conditions in his characteristic variant-impression practice. Tsuchiya Koitsu, Tokuriki Tomikichiro, and other shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga artists contributed further compositions of the lake and the falls. The visual character of Lake Chuzenji in prints is built on the dark surface of the lake against the surrounding wooded slopes, the broadly symmetrical cone of Mount Nantai rising above the western shore as a recurrent backdrop, the white column of the Kegon Falls dropping into its plunge pool, the brilliant autumn maple of the surrounding hills against the still lake surface, the snow phenomena of the higher elevation in winter, and the small lakeside settlements and torii along the shore. Modern visitors reach the lake via the Iroha-zaka switchback road from Nikko town, a steep ascending and descending pair of roads that pass through dense maple forest, with the lakeside settlements of Chuzenji-onsen and the Kegon Falls observation platform serving as the principal access points and the JR Nikko Line and Tobu Nikko Line linking the area to Tokyo.
Hanga catalogues 2 prints depicting Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖), by 1 artist.
Kawase Hasui is among the 1 artist who depicted Lake Chuzenji in our collection.
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