Snow and night scenes traditionally command higher prices. Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
Kiyomizudera (清水寺) in winter — Kyoto's most celebrated temple, its famous wooden stage jutting out over the hillside above the Otowa valley, here rendered under the austere simplicity of snow. Aoyama Masaharu's Kyoto architectural compositions draw on the visual tradition of [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) (famous place pictures) while bringing his [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) sensibility — the emphasis on personal vision and technical mastery over mere topographical documentation. The winter season transforms Kiyomizudera's complex of vermilion buildings and cedar forests into a study in simplified forms and limited palette, testing Aoyama's command of the essential structural elements that make the temple recognizable beneath the snow's simplification.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kiyomizu Temple in Winter was created by Aoyama Masaharu (青山正治).
Kiyomizu Temple in Winter depicts snow scenes, temples & shrines, and winter.
