Nijo-jo Castle in spring

Nijo Castle was built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu as the Kyoto residence of the shogun, and its grounds contain over four hundred cherry trees of multiple varieties that flower in succession from late March through April. Ido's spring view of Nijo likely sets the castle's white-plastered walls and dark tile roofs against masses of pale and deeper pink blossom, the chromatic contrast organising the composition. The print probably employs several cherry tones — paler yamazakura against deeper somei-yoshino and weeping shidare-zakura — printed from separate blocks, with [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) softening the boundary between blossom and sky. Stone ramparts and the moat anchor the lower register, while gates and corner turrets articulate the architectural geometry above. Nijo-jo sits within Ido's larger record of Kyoto's UNESCO-listed historic sites and is the only secular monument in that group, distinguishing this print from his more numerous temple and shrine views.