HASUI KAWASE, Rain at Maekawa, 1932

Beautiful proof with excellent colors. Printed on Japanese paper between 1936 and 1956. In perfect condition, with excellent margins all around beyond the marginal line.
Right margin: the Japanese title Soshu Maekawa no ame and the date Showa Shichi Nen Ni Gatsu Saku (Produced in the 2nd month of the 7th year of Showa, February 1932).
Left margin: the copyright stamp of the publisher, Watanabe of Tokyo.

Bibliography
K.H. Brown, Kawase Hasui. The Complete Woodblock Prints, , 2003, p. 401, n. 496
K.H. Brown, Visions Of Japan: Kawase Hasui’s Masterpieces, Hotei, 2004, p. 83
A.T. Zehnder, Modern Japanese Prints: The Twentieth Century, Carnegie Museum of Art, 2009, p. 87

Comment
The province of Sōshū corresponds to the current Kanagawa prefecture. In the image, a  series of traditional houses with thatched roofs, the shadows of large pines, a person walking with an umbrella, and the straight lines of rain create a sense of tranquility.

The series Tōkaidō fūkei senshū
The work is part of the famous series Selected Landscapes of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō fūkei senshū), started in 1931. It is one of Hasui's most beloved series because it revisits the classic theme of travel between Tokyo and Kyoto, dear to Hokusai and Hiroshige, but transformed with the modern sensibility of the Shin-hanga movement, characterized by plays of light and suspended seasons.
Under a sky crossed by light clouds, Mount Fuji appears in the background, with its peak veiled and the surrounding hills in cool tones. In the foreground, the Banyu River flows, depicted in a range of cobalt tones, among the riverbank grasses, a small boat introduces a barely hinted human presence.

Kawase Hasui (Tokyo 1883-1957) was one of the most famous Japanese artists of the Shin-hanga (“new prints”), which flourished in the early decades of the 20th century. This movement aimed to renew the tradition of ukiyo-e prints by combining classic techniques with modern sensibilities and Western influences.
Born in Tokyo, Hasui initially studied traditional Japanese painting (Nihonga) under the guidance of Kaburagi Kiyokata, who then encouraged him to dedicate himself to prints. In 1918, he began collaborating with the famous publisher Shōzaburō Watanabe, a pioneer of the Shin-hanga movement. This collaboration was decisive: under Watanabe's direction, Hasui created hundreds of prints that became famous for their extraordinary atmosphere and technical refinement.
Hasui is especially known for his poetic landscape views. His prints depict temples, gardens, cities, and Japanese countryside, often wrapped in twilight, rain, or snow. His masterful use of light and shadow and a melancholic sensibility distinguish his work.
While drawing inspiration from ukiyo-e masters like Hiroshige, Hasui introduces Western elements, such as linear perspective and a more pronounced realism in landscapes.
In 1956, a year before his death, Kawase Hasui was designated Living National Treasure by the Japanese government, a recognition reserved for artists considered essential for the preservation of traditional arts in Japan.
His works are now held in major museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Hasui's prints continue to influence artists and fascinate collectors for their ability to evoke a nostalgic and timeless Japan.