
Shrine Gate at Miyajima
by Koho Shoda
- Medium:
- Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
- Image courtesy of
- Saru Gallery
Description
This second treatment of the Itsukushima torii suggests Shoda returned to the subject under different conditions—a different time of day, tide level, or season—a common practice among shin-hanga designers who produced multiple variants of the same meisho. The torii of Miyajima, set in the shallows of the Seto Inland Sea, was depicted across the shin-hanga movement by Hasui, Yoshida, and others, each artist seeking a distinct atmospheric reading. Shoda's compositional approach typically places the gate centrally, allowing bokashi gradations of sea and sky to carry the emotional weight of the scene. The vermillion lacquered timber is registered as a separate color block, calibrated against the surrounding tonal field. Print variants of this kind testify to the iterative working method of the shin-hanga publishers, who would commission multiple versions of a popular subject. The Miyajima image sits within Shoda's wider catalogue of religious-site meisho-e alongside his more frequent kacho-e and nocturnal landscapes.
More Prints by Koho Shoda
More Temples & Shrines Prints

Fushimi Inari Temple
伏見稲荷
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The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
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Temple with lanterns
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A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Uji Byodoin no ichibu
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shrine Gate at Miyajima was created by Koho Shoda (庄田耕峰).
Shrine Gate at Miyajima depicts temples & shrines.



