Key value factors: Edition order (first Watanabe/Doi printing vs. posthumous reprints) is crucial. Snow scenes, night views, and bijin-ga typically command premiums. Publisher seals and artist signatures authenticate first editions.
This 1932 color woodblock print depicts the Kanzeon (Kannon) Temple at Asakusa, one of Tokyo's oldest and most visited religious sites. Founded in the 7th century, Senso-ji, as it is formally known, draws millions of visitors annually to its imposing gate, the Kaminarimon, with its massive red lantern, and the bustling Nakamise shopping street leading to the main hall. Narazaki Eisho captures the temple in the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) style that emphasizes mood and atmosphere over documentary precision. The 1932 date places this print during a period when Tokyo's historic sites were being celebrated in woodblock prints even as the city modernized rapidly around them. The Asakusa district was the entertainment heart of old Tokyo, and the temple complex served as both a sacred site and a gathering place for the pleasures of the surrounding neighborhood.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Asakusa Kanzeon Temple was created by Narazaki Eisho (楢崎栄昌) in 1932.
Asakusa Kanzeon Temple depicts urban scenes and temples & shrines, set at Asakusa.
