Japanese woodblock print, 1940, auto-zuri edition published by Watanabe. Medium: Woodblock print (sealed). Size: Oban – 36.5 cm (H) × 24 cm (W) or 15.5 inches (H) by 10.5 inches (W). Condition: Excellent, no flaws – n. O trimming, no foxing, no stains. This is a timeless Hasui design with strong demand among collectors. While originals from the 1920s-30s sell for many thousands, this reprint is a more accessible way to own a beautiful Hasui at a fraction of the price. KAWASE HASUI (1883 – 1957) was a Japanese woodblock print maker in the early 20th century. His works became widely known in the West through American connoisseur Robert O. In 1956, he was named a Living National Treasure in Japan. Hasui worked almost exclusively on landscape and townscape prints based on sketches he made in Tokyo and during travels around Japan. Hasui’s prints feature locale that are tranquil and obscure in the then-urbanizing Japan. The dreamlike quality in Hasui’s prints epitomizes a yearning for the past and a preservation of the past in the midst of rapid modernization.