Snow at Ginkakuji Temple

This woodblock print depicting Ginkakuji (the Temple of the Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto under snow is among Hasui's treatments of one of Japan's most celebrated garden and temple complexes. Founded in the late fifteenth century and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ginkakuji is known for its Muromachi-period dry garden, the Higashiyama hills as borrowed scenery, and the main hall's austere wooden construction — all of which Hasui would have observed during his sketching visits to Kyoto. In winter, the complex's geometric garden elements — sand mounds, raked paths, stone arrangements — acquire a severity under snow that suited Hasui's compositional sensibility. This primary impression, published by Watanabe Shozaburo, demonstrates the shin-hanga movement's engagement with Japan's architectural and cultural heritage as subject matter alongside its better-known rural and coastal landscapes.