Chionin Temple in Kyoto

A view of Chion-in temple complex in Higashiyama, Kyoto, this print may represent a different vantage or atmospheric condition from Hasui's other Chion-in treatment. The complex includes the massive sanmon gate, a belfry housing one of Japan's largest bronze bells, and extensive temple grounds ascending the hillside. Hasui may have chosen a moonlit or snow-laden composition — conditions that suited his technical facility with white pigment on dampened [washi](/glossary/washi) — to transform familiar sacred architecture into a nocturnal or winter scene. His Kyoto subjects form a substantial subset within his oeuvre, and multiple treatments of the same temple across different series reflect both the site's visual richness and sustained collector demand for Kyoto imagery.