Temple Bell Tower

Date:: 1935
Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Publisher:: Yoshida Studio
Source:: Honolulu Museum of Art

Typical Price

Temple and shrine subjects are among the most consistently popular categories in Yoshida's output. Standard jizuri prints of temple subjects cluster around $2,149 (dealer price benchmark from 1stDibs), with Chion-in Temple Gate listed at $3,600 and Toshogu Shrine in standard jizuri condition at approximately $2,149. Night or seasonal variants of temple subjects command additional premiums.

Jizuri (artist-supervised) seal: $1,500–$4,000
Studio/posthumous edition: $400–$1,200

Description

A temple bell tower, or shōrō, houses the great bronze bell that marks the hours and calls communities to prayer, its deep resonance carrying across considerable distances. Yoshida's 1935 print captures one such structure — likely a sturdy wooden frame of traditional joinery, open on all sides to allow the bell to sound freely, set within the precincts of a Buddhist temple. The architectural subject allowed Yoshida to explore the interplay of massive timber construction against sky and foliage, structure and nature in the balance that characterizes his best architectural prints.