About This Project

Summer Scenery of Ryukyo

I taught at Iida Junior High School in Shinshu [Nagano] from the fall of 1917 to the fall of 1918. I completed this artwork while spending the summer break at a rented house on the mountaintop in Tenryukyo. I spent time with a kid from the family of the house’s owner, and would do things like jumping into a rapid stream and swimming down the river. I even scooped up and caught an eight-inch-long eel that had become cornered among rocks in the stream. Occasionally a small boat would travel down the Tenryu loaded with tourists and cargo. I painted this piece at the best peak of the Ryukaku cliff while looking toward the upper stream. At the present time, the once rapid flow of water had changed to a lake due to Sakuma Dam.