The Outer Shrine at Ise (Ise Gekû), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Image courtesy of
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Description
This print depicts the Ise Gekû — the Outer Shrine of the Ise Jingu — as a meisho-e subject within the Tôkaidô meisho no uchi series. The Outer Shrine's role as the residence of Toyouke Ômikami, and its visual character of unornamented wooden architecture within cryptomeria forest, posed a compositional challenge distinct from the more pictorially varied stations of the Tôkaidô proper. The sanctity of the inner precinct prohibited close approach by ordinary pilgrims, so compositions representing Ise typically focus on the forested approach roads, the outer torii, and the chôzuya purification basins rather than the shrine buildings themselves. The Gyôretsu Tôkaidô framing of the series implies daimyo procession elements alongside the pilgrim traffic, situating official travel within a landscape defined by religious obligation. Kyosai, whose career spanned the transition from Edo devotion culture to Meiji modernization, brings to this canonical subject the pictorial intelligence of an artist working at the edge of a tradition that was rapidly being transformed.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Old Picture of the Rashômon Gate (Rashômon no ko zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho tsuzuki
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Tsukishimadera Temple in Hyôgo (Hyôgo Tsukishimadera), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
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from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
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More Temples & Shrines Prints

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A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Outer Shrine at Ise (Ise Gekû), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Yes — The Outer Shrine at Ise (Ise Gekû), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi is part of the Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road series by Kawanabe Kyosai.
The Outer Shrine at Ise (Ise Gekû), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi depicts temples & shrines, tōkaidō, and famous places (meisho-e).