Gate of Myoshinji Temple

The Sanmon of Myoshin-ji in Hanazono, northwest Kyoto, head temple of the Myoshinji branch of Rinzai Zen and one of the largest temple complexes in the city. The two-story timber gate dates to 1599 and stands within a walled compound of more than forty subtemples. Kitaoka's print likely treats the gate's heavy proportions and tile-roofed silhouette through dark blocks of pigment for the timberwork and lighter passages for plaster walls and the approach, with the carved grain of the woodblock often left visible in flat color areas. Architectural subjects allowed him to work with the rectilinear geometries that mokuhanga handles cleanly—straight beams, right-angle joints, hipped roofs—while reserving softer treatment for surrounding trees or sky. The print belongs to a broader strand of postwar sosaku-hanga that revisited the historic temples and shrines of Kyoto and Nara through a contemporary graphic vocabulary.