Gate to Kokedera Temple

A second design of the Kokedera gate, returning to a subject Maeda evidently found rewarding enough to recut. The repeat treatment is consistent with [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) practice, in which an artist printing his own blocks could revise a composition without the financial pressure that constrained [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) publishers to a single definitive edition per subject. Variations between the two gate prints likely involve viewpoint, season, or color separation rather than the underlying motif: a closer crop, a shifted vantage, a heavier ink for the timber framing, or a different season's moss color. The Kokedera grounds shift markedly through the year — bright green in early summer rains, deeper olive in autumn — and a printmaker working with a moss-toned palette has substantial range to work within. Maeda's willingness to commit two designs to a single Kyoto site indicates the temple held a particular weight in his subject hierarchy, alongside the Mt. Fuji and Hokkaido landscapes that form the recognizable spine of his catalogue.