Shirahige District in the Snow, 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.

A view of Hashiba and Imado over the Sumida River from the foot of the Shirahige Bridge, which had recently been completed in 1914. Hasui wrote that this journey to the Mukojima Hyakkaen Gardens in the midst of heavy snow was inspired by Matsuo Basho and his spirit of going to extreme lengths for his art.

(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)