Kiyomizu Temple - Autumn

Kiyomizu-dera, perched on a hillside in eastern Kyoto, is built around a massive wooden stage that juts out over a steep wooded valley. This woodblock print shows the temple complex during autumn, when the maple trees below the famous veranda ignite in shades of crimson and amber. The temple's wooden pillars, assembled without nails in a lattice-work construction, create a geometric framework against the organic forms of the surrounding forest. Koichi positions the viewer to take in both the architectural grandeur of the stage and the sweeping autumn color that fills the valley below. Kiyomizu-dera in autumn ranks among the most beloved views in Kyoto, and this print joins a long lineage of depictions stretching back through Hiroshige and beyond.