Kawase Hasui

Kawase Hasui, third from left

"Zōjōji in Shiba" (1925)

Kawase Hasui ( Japanese 川 瀬 巴 水 ; * May 18, 1883 in Tokyo ; † 1957 ) was a master of the Japanese woodblock print of the Shin Hanga movement . In 1956, shortly before his death, Hasui Kawase received an award from the Japanese government.

biography

Youth and education

Hasui was born under the name Bunjiro on May 18, 1883 in Tokyo as the son of a merchant family. As a child, Hasui learned to paint in the western style. His first teacher was Saburosuke Okada, who taught him the techniques of watercolor and oil painting. Hasui's family was not very happy about his artistic ambitions and tried to prevent his artistic career.

Hasui left school at the age of 12 and initially took lessons from the painter Aoyagi Bokusen. The promise to continue running the family business later made an apprenticeship at Araki Kan'yu possible. It was not until his sister Aya married a shop assistant that Hasui finally allowed himself to devote himself entirely to art.

Education

At the age of 26, Kawase Hasui tried for the first time to enter the workshop of the great master of the traditional Japanese school Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878–1973). Initially rejected, he succeeded two years later on the next attempt. Kiyokata soon recognized Hasui's talent and introduced him to Watanabe Shōzaburō .

Working with Watanabe

Kawase Hasui maintained a close and lifelong collaboration with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburō (1885–1962), the founder of the Shin Hanga movement. It was he who saved the fine art of Japanese color woodblock printing from extinction by providing impoverished artists with commissions. Photography and modern printing processes had made color woodcuts superfluous as a reproduction technique, but the discovery of the artistic value of woodcuts offered an opportunity. Watanabe of Kawase had published more than 100 woodcuts. Then a fire after an earthquake in 1923 destroyed all work and the associated printing blocks, so that Watanabe had to start all over again. Watanabe produced over 400 woodcuts by Kawase until the artist's death.

style

Kawase Hasui became a master of the atmosphere. Human figures rarely and often appear isolated, almost alone, in his pictures. Kawase's art is shaped by traditional landscapes and cityscapes. His views through all the seasons are always characterized by compositional clarity and poetic effect.

An example of this art by Kawas is the color woodcut from 1933 Sendai Yamadera Tempel (Mountain Temple in Sendai), which was bought by Christie's in New York on September 18, 2008 .

Remarks

1. ↑ His woodcut "The Zōjō-ji in the snow" was included in the list of supporting documents within the framework of the law for the preservation of valuable intangible cultural assets.
2. ↑ Many woodcuts were reprinted in 1960, after Kawase's death. In Japan it is uncommon to number prints such as "5/100".

literature

• Visions of Japan, Kawase Hasui's masterpieces, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam 2004

Web links

Commons : Kawase Hasui  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Kawase Hasui information, images, auctions ...
• Wood printing in premodern Japan
• Article about Hasui Kawase
• Viewing Japanese Prints
• Watanabe Shozaburo

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kawase is the family name, Hasui the first name.