Shiba Zöjöji Temple, Tökyö

This print of Zojo-ji Temple in Tokyo carries a full location designation—"Tökyö"—suggesting it was marketed to audiences for whom the city identification was part of the appeal, including the international collectors drawn to shin-hanga through Watanabe Shozaburo's export network from the 1910s onward. The Sangedatsumon of 1622 defines the visual identity of the Zojo-ji site across Hasui's several treatments of it, its broad tiled roof and red lacquer pillars offering strong formal contrast against sky, snow, or foliage depending on season. The composition participates in the meisho-e tradition—prints commemorating famous places—while the shin-hanga technical program elevated production standards through the use of imported pigments and Western-influenced color sensibility. Variations in sky gradation and gate coloration across impressions reflect the atelier's evolving materials and the accumulated wear of the woodblocks over successive printing runs.