Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水

川瀬巴水 Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Woodblock print artist of the Taisho and Showa Periods
He studied Japanese-style painting under Kaburaki Kiyokata and Western-style painting under Okada Sabrosuke. In 1918, he was attracted to the woodblock prints of Ito Shinsui and began making prints under Watanabe Shozaburo, who advocated Shin Hanga (New Style woodblock print). Since then, he has traveled all over the country, focusing on landscape prints, and has produced more than 500 different works. He richly expressed beautiful Japanese landscapes with his unique lyricism. His landscape prints were appreciated in Europe and the United States from early on, and he is regarded as one of the leading artists of the Shin Hanga Movement, along with Ito Shinsui, Hashiguchi Goyo, Yoshida Hiroshi, and others.
He is widely known in Europe and the United States through the introduction of American connoisseur Robert Mueller. Kawase Hasui is ranked alongside ukiyo-e artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.
When Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, was a child, he encountered Hasui's woodblock print at the home of his friend Bill Fernandez and was captivated by them, becoming an avid collector. It is said that this encounter may have influenced his later aesthetic sense and product creation.