Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was one of the most influential Japanese print artists of the twentieth century. A leading figure of the shin hanga movement and a prodigious designer of landscape prints, Hasui combined traditional Japanese themes with Western techniques, such as perspective and lighting.

Kawase Hasui: Capturing the Soul of Japan offers a richly illustrated overview of Hasui’s almost forty-year career, with special attention given to recurring themes in his art, from the tranquil villages of the Shiobara hot-springs district to the shifting urban landscapes of Tokyo. Hasui produced some six hundred woodblock prints, numerous watercolours as well as illustrations for magazines and postcard-sized prints that to date have been little researched. His activity coincided with a period of Japan’s changing national identity and this publication explores how elements of state propaganda at times subtly shaped his choice of motifs, a trend also seen in the work of other shin hanga contemporaries.

Also included in this volume is a discussion of print variations and the use of seals in identifying Hasui prints, which assists readers – scholars, collectors and enthusiasts of Japanese art – to have a deeper understanding of this important print artist.