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Tarô Inari Shrine at Asakusa Ricefields (Asakusa tanpo Tarô Inari mae) by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

Tarô Inari Shrine at Asakusa Ricefields (Asakusa tanpo Tarô Inari mae)

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Description

Titled Asakusa tanpo Taro Inari mae (In Front of Taro Inari Shrine, Asakusa Rice Fields), this print presents the Taro Inari shrine from street level, with the surrounding tanpo — flat, low-lying agricultural land — extending into the background. The full title suggests a specific vantage point, likely from a path or lane running before the shrine precinct, with rice fields receding toward the horizon. Kiyochika's treatment of flat, open terrain in the tanpo subject inverts the wooded, shadowed compositions more typical of his kosen-ga landscapes, instead distributing light evenly across a broad horizontal field with subtle gradations distinguishing sky from land. The shrine architecture — torii, komainu guardians, lanterns — provides a vertical accent against this expansive ground, while the agricultural setting anchors the composition in the seasonal rhythms of a landscape that was rapidly giving way to Meiji-era urban and industrial development along the Sumida River corridor.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Tarô Inari Shrine at Asakusa Ricefields (Asakusa tanpo Tarô Inari mae) was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).

Tarô Inari Shrine at Asakusa Ricefields (Asakusa tanpo Tarô Inari mae) depicts snow scenes.