Shiba (No) Zojo-ji

Zojo-ji (Zojoji Temple), the Jodo-sect Buddhist temple established at its Shiba location in 1598, was one of the most significant mortuary temples of the Tokugawa shogunate and among Hasui's most frequently revisited Tokyo subjects. The Sangedatsumon, a three-storied wooden gate dating to 1622 and one of Tokyo's oldest surviving structures, typically dominates compositions of this site, its massive dark form contrasting with sky or foliage. Published through the Watanabe Shozaburo atelier, prints of Zojo-ji from Hasui's Twelve Views of Tokyo and related series reflect the shin-hanga movement's effort to document urban sites undergoing modernization. The oban-format composition likely emphasizes the gate's monumental scale against an atmospheric background rendered through careful gradation.