Nijö Castle

This print of Nijo Castle — likely a distinct composition from the other Nijo subject in Hashimoto's output — may approach the site from a different vantage point or focus on a specific architectural element such as the Higashi Otemon gate, the stone walls of the Honmaru compound, or the moat that encircles the outer precinct. Nijo's architectural program combines Chinese-influenced gate structures with Japanese shoin interiors and a Kobori Enshu-designed garden, giving Hashimoto multiple compositional possibilities within a single site. His training in Western-style painting influenced his handling of perspective and light fall across stone and plaster surfaces, distinguishing his architectural [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) from the flatter treatments common in [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) landscape work of the same period.