Snow, Moon, and Cherries at Kiyomizu

Snow, Moon, and Cherries at Kiyomizu brings together the classical trio of setsugekka, one of the most revered aesthetic concepts in Japanese culture, and places them at one of Kyoto's most famous temples. Kiyomizu-dera's wooden stage, cantilevered over a hillside on massive pillars, provides the architectural anchor for a composition that encompasses winter snow, the glowing moon, and cherry blossoms, though these phenomena normally occur in different seasons. Ido Masao may depict late snow lingering while early cherry trees begin to bloom under a spring moon, or he may compress the seasons into a single idealized image. The oban woodblock format gives this ambitious subject adequate scale, and Ido's printing technique allows for the tonal range needed to render moonlit snow, luminous blossoms, and the dark mass of the temple simultaneously.