Tsuchiya Koitsu – Morning Rain at Hakone

Original woodblock print. The first edition of this design was published in 1938. The current print was printed between 1981 and 1995.

Heavy morning rain falls on lake Hakone and its surroundings. One person hurries through it, hidden deep under an umbrella. Far in the middle is what appears to be a sailing boat, but it is tiny and hard to make out in the rain.

The rain and running figure remind somewhat of Hiroshige’s Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake (of which a reprint can be found here.) Like Shin-Hanga prints often do, the current design also acknowledges the difference in scale between men and nature, with the figure very small and surrounded by tall trees, a large lake, higher hills and mountains and seeking protection from the unavoidable heavy rain. At the same time, all those imposing elements together form a beautiful landscape and view, that Tsuchiya Koitsu managed to capture perfectly.

Image size (excluding margins): 39.0 * 26.0 cm (15.4 * 10.2 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949) was a Japanese woodblock print artist. He is known for his high-quality Shin hanga prints, excelling in the depiction of light and shadow and the expression of mood.

More information about Tsuchiya Koitsu and an overview of his woodblock prints can be found here.

See an overview of Tsuchiya Koitsu's woodblock prints