Rain at Shuzenji Spa 1933

Hasui Kawase made this woodblock print, Rain at Shuzenji Spa, at some point during his career. His work is situated in the shin-hanga movement, which revitalized traditional ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Here, the downpour blurs the scene, softening the architecture of the spa and the reflections in the water. Consider how this genre emerged during a period of rapid modernization in Japan. The shin-hanga movement sought to capture fleeting moments of everyday life but it also looked back to the past. The Japanese spa occupied a place somewhere in between. It was a commercial enterprise, yet one steeped in traditions of leisure. To truly understand this image, it helps to look at the history of Japanese printmaking, particularly its relationship to tourism and the promotion of regional attractions. By doing this historical work, we can come to better understand what might have been at stake for artists such as Kawase.