HASUI KAWASE, Spring Moon, Ninomiya Beach, 1932

Stunning proof with excellent colors. Printed on Japanese paper after 1956 as per the engraver's and printer's stamps. In perfect condition, with excellent margins all around. Shadowing bokashi superbly executed everywhere.

Bibliography 
K.H. Brown, Kawase Hasui. The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2003, p. 428, n. 273
K.H. Brown, Visions Of Japan: Kawase Hasui’s Masterpieces, Hotei, 2004, n. 29
Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21918/spring-moon-ninomiya-beach-haru-no-tsuki-ninomiya-kaigan
Museum of Fine Art Boston https://collections.mfa.org/objects/252303

Comment
Like other masters of woodblock printing, Kawase Hasui also excelled in night scenes. In this image, he precisely captures that moment when the full moon and the sea, shining with reflections, manage to illuminate the spring night.
On the right margin appears the title Spring Moon, Ninomiya Beach (春ノ月二宮海岸) along with the month and year of the first edition: made in March of the seventh year of the Showa era (1932) (昭和七年三月作).

Kawase Hasui (Tokyo 1883-1957) was one of the most famous Japanese artists of the (“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 classical 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 enveloped 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 Japanese arts.
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.