Bunjiro Kawase  | 川瀬 巴水 (Parents: Silk braid merchants in Tokyo) was a master Japanese printmaker and one of the most prominent figures in the Shin-hanga (“new prints”) movement, which revitalized the traditional ukiyo-e art form in the early 20th century. Born Bunjiro Kawase to a merchant family in Tokyo, he struggled early in life to pursue art due to family pressure to take over the family business. He was initially rejected by the master Kiyokata Kaburagi, but after studying Western-style painting with Saburosuke Okada, he reapplied and was accepted. Kaburagi bestowed upon him the art name “Hasui,” meaning “Water coming from a spring.”

Hasui’s career shifted entirely when he saw the landscape prints of his fellow student Shinsui Ito. He approached the visionary publisher Shozaburo Watanabe, the driving force behind the Shin-hanga movement. Watanabe’s system maintained the traditional collaborative studio process—where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher worked together—but incorporated Western elements like perspective, shading, and moody lighting. Hasui quickly became Watanabe’s premier landscape artist.

He traveled tirelessly across Japan, making detailed watercolor sketches of rural towns, temples, and landscapes, which were then translated into exquisite woodblocks. Hasui was particularly celebrated for his poetic depictions of snow, rain, and moonlight, capturing a tranquil, romanticized vision of a rapidly modernizing Japan.

In 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake destroyed Hasui’s home as well as Watanabe’s print shop, incinerating all of Hasui’s sketchbooks and his completed woodblocks. Despite this devastating loss, he immediately began traveling and sketching again, ultimately producing over 600 prints in his lifetime. Towards the end of his life, his immense contribution to preserving traditional Japanese aesthetics was officially recognized by the government. He is remembered today as one of the greatest landscape artists in Japanese history, often compared to the legendary Utagawa Hiroshige.

Active in others filds :
Watercolor Painting, Book Illustration.

Notable Collaborations :
Shozaburo Watanabe (Master publisher and founder of the Shin-hanga movement), Kiyokata Kaburagi (His teacher and mentor), Shinsui Ito (Peer and fellow Shin-hanga master).

Hasui Kawase Legacy :
Hasui is globally celebrated as the last great master of the ukiyo-e landscape tradition and the towering genius of the Shin-hanga movement. His nostalgic, atmospheric visions of pre-industrial Japan deeply influenced Western perceptions of the country in the 20th century. His masterful rendering of weather—particularly falling snow and nighttime illumination—continues to inspire modern illustrators, animators, and printmakers worldwide.

Selected Notable Works :
Evening Snow at Terajima Village (1920), Zojoji Temple in Snow (1925), Ochanomizu (1926), Rain at Omiya (1930), Moon at Magome (1930), Spring Moon at Ninomiya Beach (1932), Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi (1932), Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto (1933), Autumn at Saruiwa (1941), Snow at Zojoji Temple (1953)

Awards and Honors :
Intangible Cultural Asset / Living National Treasure of Japan (1956)

Exhibitions & Art Venues :
Tokyo National Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Toledo Museum of Art, British Museum, Rijksmuseum, Honolulu Museum of Art