A woodblock print by Kawase Hasui

Yuhi Waterfall in Shiobara

4 Jul, 2014 | From Hans of Netherlands

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Hasui Kawase (May 18, 1883~November 7, 1957) is a prominent Japanese painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and one of the chief printmakers in the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement. In the West, Kawase is mainly known as a Japanese woodblock printmaker.

Kawase worked almost exclusively on landscape and townscape prints based on sketches 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.

As Hans wrote, the woodblock print shows a few autumn leaves falling, like thoughts popping up in one's mind and fading, over a stream coming off a dark cliff. Only a rock can alter the course of the water or a man who dares to step into it. He compared the stream with destiny, and a man can change it if only having the courage.

Source: Wikipedia