The ornately carved Yomei Gate at Nikko's Toshogu Shrine mantled in fresh snow is a subject that perfectly marries architectural splendor with seasonal beauty. Watanabe lifetime editions sell for $1,200-$3,000. The elaborate gate carvings demanded exceptional skill from the woodblock carver, and early impressions show a level of detail that later printings gradually lose.
Snow blankets the Yomeimon Gate at Nikko — the gate's elaborate polychrome carvings of dragons, phoenixes, and heavenly beings softened beneath a white accumulation that paradoxically simplifies what is otherwise Japan's most ornate architectural surface. Kasamatsu's Yomeimon snow print was among his most celebrated subjects, the contrast between the gate's festive complexity and the snow's austerity creating an image of unusual formal tension. The gate's nickname — Higurashimon, the "twilight gate" — implies a contemplation the snow view extends into winter.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Snow at Yomei Gate was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Snow at Yomei Gate uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Snow at Yomei Gate was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Snow at Yomei Gate depicts snow scenes and architecture.
