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Kawase Hasui Art

Japanese, 1883-1957
Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883 -1957) was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like many earlier ukiyo-e prints, Hasui's works were commonly landscapes, but displayed atmospheric effects and natural lighting. Hasui designed approximately 620 prints over a career that spanned nearly forty years. Towards the end of his life the government recognized him as a Living National Treasure for his contribution to Japanese culture. From youth Hasui dreamed of an art career. His maternal uncle was Kanagaki Robun (1829–94), a Japanese author and journalist, who produced the first manga magazine. Hasui went to the school of the painter Aoyagi Bokusen as a young man. He sketched from nature, copied the masters' woodblock prints, and studied brush painting with Araki Kanyu. His parents had him take on the family rope and thread wholesaling business, but its bankruptcy when he was 26 freed him to pursue art. He approached Kiyokata Kaburagi to teach him, but Kaburagi instead encouraged him to study Western-style painting, which he did with Okada Saburōsuke for two years. Two years later he again applied as a student to Kaburagi, who this time accepted him. Kiyokata bestowed the name Hasui upon him, which can be translated as "water gushing from a spring", and derives from his elementary school combined with an ideogram of his family name. Kawase studied ukiyo-e and Japanese style painting at the studio of Kiyokata Kaburagi. He mainly concentrated on making watercolors of actors, everyday life and landscapes, many of them published as illustrations in books and magazines in the last few years of the Meiji period and early Taishō period. Kawase worked almost exclusively on landscape and townscape prints based on sketches and watercolors he made in Tokyo and during travels around Japan. However, his prints are not merely meishō (famous places) prints that are typical of earlier ukiyo-e masters such as Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Kawase's prints feature locales that are tranquil and obscure in urbanizing Japan. Hasui Kawase's works are currently kept in several museums worldwide, including the British Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Stanley Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Clark Art Institute, the Smart Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
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'Rain at Shinagawa, Ryoshimachi' — lifetime impression
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
A fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe 6mm round seal indicating a lifetime impression printed between 1945 - 1957. Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Image size 14 1/4 x 9 3/8 inches (362 x 238 mm); sheet size 15 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches (391 x 264 mm). An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation. ABOUT THE ARTIST “I do not paint subjective impressions. My work is based on reality...I can not falsify...(but) I can simplify…I make mental impressions of the light and color at the time of sketching. While coloring the sketch, I am already imagining the effects in a woodblock print.” — Kawase Hasui Hasui Kawase (1883–1957) is the most celebrated Japanese print designer of the shin-hanga ('new prints') movement. His prints, produced under the guidance and discerning eye of his publisher, Watanabe Shozaburo, represent the modern legacy of the renowned 19th-century Ukiyo-e masters Hiroshige and Hokusai. Hasui was able to evoke the fleeting beauty of Japan during the interwar period as no other printmaker of his time could. Hasui's work enjoyed huge popularity upon producing his first print in 1918. Watanabe recognized and developed the enormous potential of the American market, resulting in Hasui's prints achieving high prices at auctions in New York as early as the 1920s. After the Second World War, his prints became highly sought-after collectible works among the American occupying forces in Japan. Hasui designed more than 600 prints during the 40-year span of his artistic career, and in 1956, he was named a 'Living National Treasure' of Japan. Hasui’s woodblock...
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1930s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

'The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province' — Lifetime Impression
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series Collected Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fûkei shû II Kansai hen), woodblock print, 1934. A very fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe ‘D’ seal indicating an early impression printed between 1931 - 1941. Stamped faintly 'Made in Japan' in the bottom center margin, verso. Horizontal ôban; image size 9 3/8 x 14 1/4 inches (238 x 362 mm); sheet size approximately 10 5/16 x 15 1/2 inches ( 262 x 394 mm). Collections: Art Institute of Chicago; Austrian Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna); Honolulu Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Museum in Warsaw; University of Wisconsin-Madison. ABOUT THE ARTIST “I do not paint subjective impressions. My work is based on reality...I can not falsify...(but) I can simplify…I make mental impressions of the light and color at the time of sketching. While coloring the sketch, I am already imagining the effects in a woodblock print.” — Kawase Hasui Hasui Kawase...
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1930s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kawase Hasui -- Snow at Hie Shrine, circa 1946 - 1957
By Kawase Hasui
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Kawase Hasui (Japanese, 1883-1957) Snow at Hie Shrine, circa 1946 -1957 (dated in the publisher's seal) Woodblock Sheet size 37.5 x 26.0 cm (vertical oban) Frame size 51.3 x 38.5 x 2...
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1940s Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kawase Hasui -- Spring Rain at Gokoku Temple
By Kawase Hasui
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Kawase Hasui Spring Rain at Gokoku-ji Temple, 1932 Woodblock Print 1st Publication: 1932 Sheet size: 39 × 26 cm Date of this edition: 1932, 1st edition Publisher: Doi Teiichi Note...
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1930s Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kawase Hasui -- Morning in Hirano, Lake Yamanaka (山中湖平野の朝)
By Kawase Hasui
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Kawase Hasui Morning in Hirano, Lake Yamanaka (山中湖平野の朝), 1936 Color woodblock print Oban Sheet: 31 × 42 cm Image: 28.7 × 40 cm First edition seal: 'D' seal Published by Watanabe Shoz...
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1930s Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kawase Hasui -- Rain at Yasuniwa (Nagano)
By Kawase Hasui
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Kawase Hasui Rain at Yasuniwa (Nagano), 1946 woodcut in colours Signed on the block, sealed, titled and dated in ink Publisher: Shozaburo Watanabe, with his 6mm seal The first state ...
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1940s Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

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Previously Available Items
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Category

1930s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

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Kiyomizu Temple in the Snow - Woodblock Print
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Kiyomizu Temple in the Snow - Woodblock Print A spectacular woodblock print by Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883-1957), depicting a serene wintery balcony with two women under umbrellas in the falling snow at the Kiyomizu Temple (Temple of Pure Waters). One of the most celebrated temples in Japan, the temple was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall among the wooded hills to the east of Kyoto - the temple's name based on the fall's crystalline waters. Publisher: Doi Hangaten Artist's seal and signature in lower right corner. Presented in a new white mat. Paper size: 15.63"H x 10.25"W (ôban size with raw top edge) Mat size: 24"H x 20"W Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883 -1957) was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like many earlier ukiyo-e prints, Hasui's works were commonly landscapes, but displayed atmospheric effects and natural lighting. Hasui designed approximately 620 prints over a career that spanned nearly forty years. Towards the end of his life the government recognized him as a Living National Treasure for his contribution to Japanese culture. From youth Hasui dreamed of an art career. His maternal uncle was Kanagaki Robun (1829–94), a Japanese author and journalist, who produced the first manga magazine. Hasui went to the school of the painter Aoyagi Bokusen as a young man. He sketched from nature, copied the masters' woodblock prints, and studied brush painting with Araki Kanyu. His parents had him take on the family rope and thread wholesaling business, but its bankruptcy when he was 26 freed him to pursue art. He approached Kiyokata Kaburagi to teach him, but Kaburagi instead encouraged him to study Western-style painting, which he did with Okada Saburōsuke...
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1940s Edo Kawase Hasui Art

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Spring Evening, Ueno Toshogu Shrine - Woodblock Print with First Edition Seal
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Soquel, CA
Spring Evening, Ueno Toshogu Shrine - Woodblock Print with First Edition Seal Woodblock print by Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883-1957). A crescent moon hangs above the five-story red pagoda of Kan’ei Temple on a clear spring evening in Ueno. Flowering cherry trees create a profusion of pink that adds to the beauty of the view. This 17th century temple is now part of Ueno Park in Tokyo and is an National Important Cultural Property, and one of the few original buildings that survived the Battle of Ueno in 1868. Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô First edition, with the round Watanabe seal that was in use in the late 1940s, lower left. Edge notations can be faintly seen through the paper from verso. Artist's seal and signature in lower right corner. Presented in an off-white mat. Paper size: 15.25"H x 10.5"W (ôban size with raw top edge) Mat size: 18.5"H x 13.25"W Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883 -1957) was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like many earlier ukiyo-e prints, Hasui's works were commonly landscapes, but displayed atmospheric effects and natural lighting. Hasui designed approximately 620 prints over a career that spanned nearly forty years. Towards the end of his life the government recognized him as a Living National Treasure for his contribution to Japanese culture. From youth Hasui dreamed of an art career. His maternal uncle was Kanagaki Robun (1829–94), a Japanese author and journalist, who produced the first manga magazine. Hasui went to the school of the painter Aoyagi Bokusen as a young man. He sketched from nature, copied the masters' woodblock prints, and studied brush painting with Araki Kanyu. His parents had him take on the family rope and thread wholesaling business, but its bankruptcy when he was 26 freed him to pursue art. He approached Kiyokata Kaburagi to teach him, but Kaburagi instead encouraged him to study Western-style painting, which he did with Okada Saburōsuke...
Category

1940s Edo Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Ink, Laid Paper

Kawase Hasui -- Meguro Fudo Temple 目黑不动堂
By Kawase Hasui
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Title "Meguro Fudo Temple" 目黑不动堂 Date 1931; (c1940's/50's) Publisher Watanabe Shozaburo Seal, Carver/Printer red 6mm (lifetime edition) Image Size 9.5 x 14.4 Impressio...
Category

Early 20th Century Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Moon at Magome
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Burbank, CA
"Moon at Magome," from "Twenty Views of Tokyo". In this masterful evening view, the yellow glow from a small window echoes the haunting presence of the full, yellow moon. This field ...
Category

Early 20th Century Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Woodcut

'Rain at Shinagawa, Ryoshimachi' — lifetime impression
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
A very fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe 6mm round seal indicating a lifetime impression printed between 1945 - 1957. An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation. ABOUT THE ARTIST Hasui Kawase...
Category

1930s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

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Mount Fuji Seen from Tagonoura, Evening — lifetime impression
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Kawase Hasui, Tagonoura no yuu II (Mount Fuji Seen from Tagonoura, Evening), color woodblock print, 1940. A fine impression, with fresh colors; on cream wove Japan paper, the full sh...
Category

1940s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Spring Evening at the Kintaikyo Bridge (Kintaikyo no Shunsho)
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
A very fine, exceptionally well-inked impression, with fresh, vivid colors, and strong contrasts, from the original publisher’s folder, never matted, framed or exposed to sunlight; i...
Category

Mid-20th Century Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Shinshu Matsubarako (Lake Matsubara, Shinshu)
By Kawase Hasui
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Kawase Hasui, 'Shinshu Matsubarako' (Lake Matsubara, Shinshu), color woodblock print, 1941. Signature ‘Hasui’. Artist's seal (’sui’), lower right. Watanabe's 6 mm round 'A' seal (194...
Category

1940s Showa Kawase Hasui Art

Materials

Woodcut

Kawase Hasui art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Kawase Hasui art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Kawase Hasui in woodcut print and more. Not every interior allows for large Kawase Hasui art, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of and Ohara Koson. Kawase Hasui art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,280 and tops out at $6,000, while the average work can sell for $1,900.

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Questions About Kawase Hasui Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertJune 30, 2023
    Hasui Kawase made woodblock prints and was one of the most important modern Japanese artists. The woodblock printmaking genre, unique to Japan, grew out of 17th-century developments in printing and book publishing. Kawase was a prominent practitioner of the shin-hanga (“new prints”) movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like many earlier artists working in woodblock printmaking, Hasui primarily created richly atmospheric landscapes. They’re characterized by an emphasis on natural lighting and the artist’s effort to draw attention to the beauty of nature. Hasui created hundreds of prints over a career that spanned nearly forty years. On 1stDibs, find a range of original Japanese woodblock prints.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 17, 2023
    Kawase Hasui was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1883. He was one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers and a prominent designer of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Shop a range of Kawase Hasui art from some of the world's top galleries on 1stDibs.

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