Light in the Evening - Minakami

Description

The town depicted here by Kasamatsu Shiro is Minakami, with the main title of the print being "Light in the Evening". The town is shown in winter with snow covering the mountains in the distance, the houses, trees and street. Due to evening time, what remains uncovered by snow is darkly colored, leading to an almost monochrome scene. As always, snow serves as a seemingly omnipresent lightsource, and the scene is much lighter than would be expected from an evening scene. If space was not a consideration, perhaps its title might not just have been "Light in the Evening", as it seems clear that Kasamatsu Shiro was not just investigating light at dusk, but also evening light in a snowy landscape. Contrast to the black and white world is provided by the warm, yellow light radiating out of the windows of the buildings on the right. Minakami is known for its hotsprings and one can imagine the attraction the warmth of the buildings would exert on someone, perhaps Kasamatsu Shiro at one point, standing outside in the cold, with the beauty of the last light of the evening soon to be gone completely.