Hasui 巴水: Ochanomizu 御茶の水 東京二十景 (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) Title: Ochanomizu 御茶の水 Series: Twenty Views of Tokyo 東京二十景 Date: 1926 A blizzard transforms an ordinary view into an extraordinary one, with blowing gusts of snow masterfully rendered by the printer and blockcarver. The brilliant white areas of snow snow are contrasted with the dark grey swath of the riverbank, with the bright yellow window lights providing bursts of color. Every snowscape by Hasui has snowflakes rendered in unique ways. Here the flakes are ovoid and slanted, and their tones range from brilliant white to soft grey; this is a masterclass in prewar woodblock printing. Narazaki here outlines the scene: “A view from the bridge over the Ochanomizu, a tributary of the Kanda River: a boat has come to a halt in the squalls during a blizzard, a row of houses is situated on the opposite bank.” From the series “20 Views of Tokyo”, with the earliest Watanabe seal for this design (in use 1924-1930). This design was chosen as the cover image for an e