Multicoloured autumn - Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle (Himeji-jo), the seventeenth-century hilltop fortress in Hyogo Prefecture, is among the most-depicted subjects in Japanese architectural printmaking, prized for its tiered white plastered walls and complex rooflines. Hashimoto returned to the castle repeatedly across his career, treating its donjon (tenshu) from varied angles and seasons. This composition pairs the architecture with autumn foliage, layering the deep reds of momiji and yellows of ginkgo against the structure's pale walls and dark tiled gables. Working in the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) manner, Hashimoto carved and printed every block, exploiting the woodblock's capacity to register flat planes of color cleanly while reserving woodgrain texture for soft passages of foliage or roof tiles. His castle prints typically rely on a strong silhouetted geometry rather than aerial perspective, a treatment that distinguishes his architectural subjects from those of contemporaries like Tokuriki Tomikichiro or Hiratsuka Un'ichi.