Tsuta Onsen (蔦温泉)
1 print by 1 artist
About Tsuta Onsen
Tsuta Onsen is a hot spring resort in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park in southwestern Aomori Prefecture in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, situated in the wooded mountains north of Lake Towada at an elevation of approximately 450 meters above sea level. The principal lodging at the site, the Tsuta Onsen Ryokan, traces its founding to the late ninth century according to local tradition, with the founder said to have been the wandering monk Jikaku Daishi Ennin, and the present main building dates principally to 1909 with subsequent additions, making it one of the oldest continuously operating onsen lodgings in the Tohoku region. The ryokan is celebrated for the Kyu-honkan (Old Main Building), a multi-story wooden structure with the traditional internal hot spring bath fed directly by the spring rising beneath the bathing floor (the so-called ashimoto wakidashi or under-foot bubbling tradition characteristic of the highest-grade Japanese onsen lodgings). The surrounding district is celebrated for the Tsuta Numa, a small lake among a chain of seven lakes (the Tsuta Shichinuma) set in beech and oak forest at the foot of the surrounding mountains, and for the brilliant autumn foliage that draws visitors in October and November. The site is geologically associated with the wider Hakkoda mountain volcanic system, and the hot springs derive from the geothermal activity of the underlying volcanic terrain. The Tsuta Shichinuma walking trail circulates among the seven small lakes through the surrounding beech forest and is one of the principal autumn destinations of the Towada-Hachimantai region. For Japanese printmaking Tsuta Onsen is most prominently associated with Kawase Hasui, who visited the site in 1933 (his second visit to the broader Towada region) and produced one of the most celebrated single shin-hanga sheets of the Tohoku region, Tsuta Lake (Tsuta no numa) issued by Watanabe Shozaburo, depicting the still water of the small lake against the surrounding autumn forest and rising mist, with the diffused light of the autumn dawn producing one of the most thoroughly atmospheric of Hasui's mountain-lake subjects. The sheet is among the most heavily reproduced of Hasui's Tohoku subjects and is held in major collections worldwide including the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Other shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga artists treated the surrounding Towada-Hachimantai region, but Tsuta Numa is preeminently a Hasui subject, with his composition becoming the canonical visual reference for the lake. The visual character of Tsuta Onsen and Tsuta Numa in prints is built on the still surface of the small lake against the surrounding wooded slope, the autumn maple and beech foliage reflected in the water in stages from green through yellow to deep red, the diffused mist of the autumn dawn or evening, and frequently the silhouette of the surrounding mountains rising into the distance. The autumn reflection imagery is central to the iconography of the site. Contemporary visitors reach Tsuta Onsen via the rural prefectural roads north of Lake Towada from JR Aomori or Hachinohe Station, with the historic ryokan continuing to operate as a working onsen inn (it remains one of the most distinguished traditional onsen lodgings in the country) and the surrounding lakes accessible via a walking circuit of approximately one to two hours through the surrounding beech forest.
Prints Depicting Tsuta Onsen (1)
Artists Who Depicted Tsuta Onsen (1)
Frequently Asked Questions
Tsuta Onsen is a hot spring resort in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park in southwestern Aomori Prefecture in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, situated in the wooded mountains north of Lake Towada at an elevation of approximately 450 meters above sea level. The principal lodging at the site, the Tsuta Onsen Ryokan, traces its founding to the late ninth century according to local tradition, with the founder said to have been the wandering monk Jikaku Daishi Ennin, and the present main building dates principally to 1909 with subsequent additions, making it one of the oldest continuously operating onsen lodgings in the Tohoku region. The ryokan is celebrated for the Kyu-honkan (Old Main Building), a multi-story wooden structure with the traditional internal hot spring bath fed directly by the spring rising beneath the bathing floor (the so-called ashimoto wakidashi or under-foot bubbling tradition characteristic of the highest-grade Japanese onsen lodgings). The surrounding district is celebrated for the Tsuta Numa, a small lake among a chain of seven lakes (the Tsuta Shichinuma) set in beech and oak forest at the foot of the surrounding mountains, and for the brilliant autumn foliage that draws visitors in October and November. The site is geologically associated with the wider Hakkoda mountain volcanic system, and the hot springs derive from the geothermal activity of the underlying volcanic terrain. The Tsuta Shichinuma walking trail circulates among the seven small lakes through the surrounding beech forest and is one of the principal autumn destinations of the Towada-Hachimantai region. For Japanese printmaking Tsuta Onsen is most prominently associated with Kawase Hasui, who visited the site in 1933 (his second visit to the broader Towada region) and produced one of the most celebrated single shin-hanga sheets of the Tohoku region, Tsuta Lake (Tsuta no numa) issued by Watanabe Shozaburo, depicting the still water of the small lake against the surrounding autumn forest and rising mist, with the diffused light of the autumn dawn producing one of the most thoroughly atmospheric of Hasui's mountain-lake subjects. The sheet is among the most heavily reproduced of Hasui's Tohoku subjects and is held in major collections worldwide including the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Other shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga artists treated the surrounding Towada-Hachimantai region, but Tsuta Numa is preeminently a Hasui subject, with his composition becoming the canonical visual reference for the lake. The visual character of Tsuta Onsen and Tsuta Numa in prints is built on the still surface of the small lake against the surrounding wooded slope, the autumn maple and beech foliage reflected in the water in stages from green through yellow to deep red, the diffused mist of the autumn dawn or evening, and frequently the silhouette of the surrounding mountains rising into the distance. The autumn reflection imagery is central to the iconography of the site. Contemporary visitors reach Tsuta Onsen via the rural prefectural roads north of Lake Towada from JR Aomori or Hachinohe Station, with the historic ryokan continuing to operate as a working onsen inn (it remains one of the most distinguished traditional onsen lodgings in the country) and the surrounding lakes accessible via a walking circuit of approximately one to two hours through the surrounding beech forest.
Hanga catalogues 1 print depicting Tsuta Onsen (蔦温泉), by 1 artist.
Kawase Hasui is among the 1 artist who depicted Tsuta Onsen in our collection.
Want to rate prints from Tsuta Onsen?
Sign up to start rating