Mt Fuji, Narusawa (Late Autumn)

Kawase Hasui

The entirety of the village of Narusawa is located within the borders of Japan’s Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, which was established in the same year that Kawase Hasui’s “Mt. Fuji, Narusawa” image was printed. The park partially encompasses the foothills of Mt Fuji as well, seen here as the backdrop to an idyllic scene of a family farm - likely growing vegetables - as a mother and daughter perform their daily chores. A drift of late autumn clouds forms above the distant forest, whose leaves have turned in preparation for winter.

The Hotei raisonné comments on this image: quoting Narazaki "'The composition depicts a country scene in the late autumn, with the unchanging colours of the distant Mount Fuji, the sky and clouds' adding "The three versions include a late autumnal view (395) and one in which the slopes of Mount Fuji are printed in blue (395a). The third (395b) has a red seal reading 'shizuri' (trial print) in the right margin."

This impression, printed later, combines the printing of 395b and c in the buildings and Fuji and has a Watanabe "A" 6mm seal in the lower left image.