Zojoji Temple in Snow

Zojoji Temple in Snow, created in 1953, depicts the historic Jodo Buddhist temple in Tokyo's Shiba Park area during a winter snowfall. This atmospheric scene is one of Kasamatsu's best-known snow compositions and inevitably invites comparison with Kawase Hasui's celebrated 1922 print of the same subject, Zojoji Temple in Shiba (Shiba Zojoji), which is among the most famous images in the entire shin-hanga canon.

Kasamatsu's interpretation presents the temple's imposing Sangedatsumon gate partially veiled by falling snow, with the white accumulation on rooftops, trees, and the ground creating a hushed winter atmosphere. The composition likely includes figures with umbrellas moving through the snow-covered temple grounds, a motif that adds human scale and warmth to the otherwise still and silent scene. Bare tree branches frame portions of the architecture, their dark lines creating graphic contrast against the white snow and gray sky.

The technical demands of printing a convincing snow scene in woodblock are considerable. The white of the paper itself serves as the snow, requiring the artist and printers to think in terms of negative space — carving and printing everything around the snow rather than the snow itself. Kasamatsu and his printers achieved subtle gradations within the white areas through minimal application of pale gray or blue tones, suggesting shadows, depth, and the three-dimensional contours of snow-covered surfaces. The falling snowflakes were likely created through a combination of reserve printing and overprinting techniques.

Created three decades after Hasui's iconic version, Kasamatsu's Zojoji Temple in Snow demonstrates both his respect for the shin-hanga tradition and his own artistic voice. Where Hasui's version is renowned for its bold simplicity and striking color contrast, Kasamatsu's later treatment offers a more nuanced and atmospheric interpretation. The print exemplifies the continued vitality of the shin-hanga aesthetic in the postwar period and remains highly sought after by collectors of Japanese prints.