Inari Hill at Fushimi

Fushimi Inari-taisha occupies the slopes of Inari-yama in southern Kyoto and is best known for the dense rows of vermillion torii that line its mountain paths. This print likely shows a section of the torii corridor or the shrine precincts on the hill, with the saturated vermillion of the gates as the dominant chromatic note against the muted greens and browns of the wooded slope. Vermillion is a demanding pigment in mokuhanga: it must be printed evenly to avoid streaking across broad surfaces, and the carver must keep the vertical posts and lintels sharply defined for the color to read cleanly. The receding tunnel of torii lends itself to a strong perspectival composition built on a single keyblock. Fushimi Inari was a standard shin-hanga subject, and Nomura's treatment fits within his temple-and-shrine repertoire alongside the Yasaka Pagoda -- prints organized around Kyoto's recognizable religious landmarks.