Kawase Hasui sc205891. 1930s Japan, public domain image.

Regarded as a major Japanese landscape artist of the 20th century, Hasui Kawase was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. Born Bunjiro Kawase in Tokyo, Hasui Kawase was the son of a silk braid merchant. He began his artistic career studying Japanese-style painting with Kiyokata, as well as Western-style at the Hakubakai. He was a prominent designer of the shin-hanga movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Hasui Kawase’s prints are characterized by their serenity of mood and flawless composition.