red gate of Tokyo University

The Akamon (Red Gate) on the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo, a vermillion-lacquered structure built in 1827 to commemorate the marriage of Maeda Nariyasu, daimyo of Kaga, to a daughter of the Tokugawa shogun. The gate survived the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 firebombing and is designated an Important Cultural Property. For a mokuhanga designer the subject is unusually saturated: the deep red lacquer dominates the print, allowing Maeda to work a single bold color field against the muted greys and greens of the surrounding campus. The Akamon's distinctive form — a central gate flanked by smaller side gates, with the curved gabled roof of a daimyo's wakidono — is recognizable in silhouette, and woodblock printing's strength with flat color planes suits it. Carrying the Maeda surname himself, the artist may have felt a particular affinity with the structure's namesake patron, though there is no documented family connection.