Lingering Snow in Inokashira Park, from the series "Twelve Scenes of Tokyo" 

Kawase Hasui studied with Ito Shinsui and was greatly impressed by his colleague’s landscape prints. After a meeting with Watanabe Shozaburo, a publisher who sought to revive the Edo Period (1603–1868) tradition of ukiyo-e and its system of collaboration between dedicated artists, engravers, and printers, Hasui chose the path of ukiyo-e artist. It was this series, dubbed Twelve Scenes of Tokyo and made from the summer of 1919 to the spring of 1921, that established his reputation. Born and raised in Tokyo and with an easygoing sensibility, Hasui weaved his nostalgia for Edo Period life and culture into twelve refreshing views that weren’t confined to the city’s established landmarks.

This is an early spring scene at Inokashira Park (located in present-day Musashino and Mitaka cities), which first opened in 1917. The blue of the cedar tree-lined pond, the white of the lingering snow, the yellow of the withered reeds, and the purple tinge of the clouds all left impressions on the artist.

(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)