Zozoji Temple

Zōjōji, the Jōdo-sect temple in Shiba, Tokyo, is among the most frequently depicted religious sites in modern hanga, treated earlier by Kawase Hasui and Tsuchiya Koitsu in the shin-hanga manner. Sekino's version belongs to a different lineage — the sosaku-hanga approach in which the artist carves and prints the blocks himself, foregrounding texture and graphic structure over photographic atmosphere. The print likely centers on the Sangedatsumon main gate or one of the temple halls, with the architecture organized into broad geometric planes of tile, lacquer, and timber. Bokashi gradations along the eaves or sky soften the strict architectural geometry. The wood grain of the block is often deliberately allowed to read through the impression in Sekino's temple subjects, lending a tactile quality distinct from the polished finish of shin-hanga. The work fits within his recurring engagement with Japanese religious architecture as cultural subject.