Dawn at Isawa in Kai Province (Kôshû Isawa no akatsuki)

Catalog note / 解説

The print depicts morning in a village near a river. Some travelers are already on the road, and others, in front of inns, are getting ready to leave. Foretelling the sunrise, Fuji stands against the pink sky, a red light on its summit, while its main body is still black. The river and the road are also dark, dotted by yellow circular straw hats. Although the composition is ordinary, crowded with too many people and houses and lacking a strong focal point, Hokusai handles nature’s light changes superbly. Isawa is a small town on the bank of the Fuefuki (literally, flute-playing) River on the Köshü highway that connects Edo and Köshü (present-day Yamanashi prefecture) and Lake Suwa. In this…