Snow at Zojoji Temple, Shiba (Zojyoji) — 芝増上寺

This oban-format composition depicts Zojoji Temple's monumental sanmon gate in Tokyo's Shiba district under heavy snowfall. The great vermillion gate, rendered in muted tones beneath accumulated snow, anchors the composition while bare-branched trees frame the scene. Hasui employed graduated bokashi in the sky to convey the dense, cold atmosphere characteristic of a Tokyo winter, transitioning from pale gray overhead to near-white at the horizon. The print belongs to the body of work Hasui produced for publisher Watanabe Shozaburo, where careful registration across multiple color blocks achieved crisp architectural detail against atmospheric backgrounds. Zojoji, a Jodo sect temple founded in the fourteenth century, served as the Tokugawa family mausoleum, lending the site historical gravity. Hasui returned to this subject across multiple editions and formats, each exploring different light conditions and snowfall intensities at this emblematic Tokyo landmark.