Stone garden No. 3: Ryôan-ji

Ryoan-ji's karesansui (dry rock garden) in northwest Kyoto—fifteen weathered stones arranged in raked gravel within a rectangular enclosure—is among the most studied subjects in Japanese landscape art. Hashimoto produced multiple prints of the garden, with the 'No. 3' designation identifying this as part of a sustained series exploring viewpoint, season, and time of day. The composition challenges a printmaker because so much of its content is empty raked gravel, a flat field that must be carried by the texture of paper and ink alone. Hashimoto typically registered the gravel as a single broad block, using subtle [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) to suggest swept patterns, while the stones and the surrounding earthen wall (tsuiji-bei) anchor the design with carved outlines. The print sits within his broader engagement with temple and garden architecture, and connects the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) movement to the postwar interest in Zen aesthetics that drew both Japanese and Western collectors.