Kyokochi Pond (Kinkakuji Temple) - 鏡湖地畔（きょうこち）

This second Kyokochi print most likely varies from the first in season, time of day, or cropping. Kinkakuji under winter snow was a subject Kyoto printmakers returned to repeatedly: the gold pavilion against white snow and bare branches produces a stark tonal contrast unavailable in other seasons, with the reflection in the pond taking on a gray-blue cast beneath a clouded sky. Alternatively, an autumn version would surround the pavilion with momiji maples in red and orange, intensifying the warmth of the gold. Kotozuka's approach to repeated subjects within a series was less about formal experimentation than about systematic documentation of a site through the year—a methodology aligned with the [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) tradition of recording famous places, here applied with the atmospheric sensitivity characteristic of [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) landscape printing.