Sannenzaka in summer

Sannenzaka, the three-year slope, is a stone-paved street in the Higashiyama district leading toward Kiyomizu-dera. It is lined with two-story wooden machiya housing tea shops, kimono dealers, and confectioners, with curved tile roofs descending toward the Yasaka pagoda visible in the distance. In summer the sky deepens to a saturated blue and the wooden facades absorb the heavy afternoon light. Ido's summer compositions typically render foliage in greens layered across several blocks, using [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) to model volume within tree canopies while preserving the sharp keyblock outlines that define eaves, paper lanterns, and the diagonal cascade of stone steps. The composition likely follows the slope downward in one-point recession along the street's central axis, with figures in summer-weight clothing scaled to anchor the perspective. Sannenzaka recurs across Ido's work alongside the neighboring Ninenzaka and the approaches to Kiyomizu, all rendered repeatedly across the seasons.