Twenty Views of Tokyo: Shiba Zojo Temple (Tokyo Nijukkei: Shiba Zojoji)

From the 'Twenty Views of Tokyo' series. Zojo-ji in Shiba was the funerary temple of six Tokugawa shoguns and one of the most significant Buddhist complexes in Edo. Its landmark feature, the massive three-tiered sangedatsumon gate constructed in 1622, dominates the southern approach to the temple precinct. Hasui likely positioned the viewer at the approach path, with the gate centered in a composition that uses converging lines of the stone-paved avenue to establish depth. Mausoleums and subsidiary halls occupy the middle distance on either side, with mature cryptomeria and ginkgo trees framing the scene. The palette may be warm, suggesting autumn foliage, or cool, depending on the season depicted. At the time Hasui made this print, Zojo-ji still stood amid considerable open space, and the relationship between the massive gate and the empty sky above it gave the subject a monumental quality well suited to the oban format. This daytime or seasonal view differs from the snow-specific treatment of the same temple published elsewhere in the series.