Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu)
by Kawase Hasui
by Kawase Hasui
Snow at a shrine or temple — Hasui's single most valuable subject combination. Prints pairing winter precipitation with sacred architecture dominate the top of his price range: Snow at Zojoji Temple ($16,000 at Artelino, 2023), Snow at Tosho-gu Shrine ($3,200 at Artelino, 2020), Snow at a Shrine Entrance ($3,100 at Artelino, 2020), Saishoin Temple in the Snow ($3,000 at Artelino, 2023). Edition period is critical: pre-war lifetime editions consistently outperform posthumous prints by 3–5×. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu), dated circa 1935, depicts the famous Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto — the gold-leaf covered pavilion built as a retirement villa by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and converted to a Zen temple after his death — under falling evening snow that whitens the garden pond's edges and the surrounding pine forest. The golden pavilion's reflection in the Kyoko-chi mirror pond, combined with falling snow, creates one of the most visually striking combinations in Japanese landscape imagery: the pavilion's warm gold against the cold white accumulation, the reflection doubling the golden form in the darkening water. The circa 1935 date places this in Hasui's most technically assured period.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in circa 1935.
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu) uses Bokashi, on woodblock print; ink and color on paper.
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (circa 1935).
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu) depicts snow scenes, night scenes, and architecture.
Evening Snow at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji no bosetsu) measures 24.1 × 26.4 cm (Oban format).
