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 woodblock print takes the viewer inside the Kannon Temple at Asakusa, the Japanese subtitle "Asakusa Kannon-do no naido" specifying the interior of the main hall. Where the exterior of Senso-ji is one of Tokyo's most photographed landmarks, its interior is a dimmer, more contemplative space: rows of columns supporting a high ceiling, the golden glow of the central Kannon statue surrounded by offerings, and the haze of incense smoke drifting through shafts of light from high windows. Narazaki Eisho's decision to depict the interior rather than the familiar exterior demonstrates an interest in the temple's spiritual atmosphere rather than its architectural spectacle. The woodblock medium handles the contrast between dark interior spaces and isolated areas of warm light with particular effectiveness, carving areas of shadow into the block while reserving bright spots for careful color application.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Interior of the Kannon Temple at Asakusa (Asakusa Kannon-dô no naidô) was created by Narazaki Eisho (楢崎栄昌) in Japanese, Taishô era–Shôwa era, 20th century.
Interior of the Kannon Temple at Asakusa (Asakusa Kannon-dô no naidô) depicts urban scenes, temples & shrines, and religious, set at Asakusa.
