Red Temple Gate
by Takeji Asano
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Unsodo
- Source:
- Ukiyo-e.org (via Artelino)
Typical Price
A bold red temple gate — possibly a Kyoto shrine entrance — rendered in Asano's characteristic saturated palette. The architectural subject and strong color composition make this an appealing decorative piece as well as a collectible print. Prices typically range from $200-$600, and early Unsodo impressions with the most vivid pigments are preferred.
Description
A red temple gate — most likely a torii or a Buddhist sanmon rendered in the vermilion lacquer that distinguished the most sacred Shinto and Buddhist structures — is presented in Asano's characteristic warm atmospheric style. The red gate in Japanese visual tradition carried powerful associations of sacred threshold — the passage from the ordinary world into the precincts of the divine — and its color was among the most saturated and emotionally charged available to the woodblock artist. Asano's rendering would have made the most of the vermilion's warmth against the green of surrounding vegetation or the blue of sky.
More Prints by Takeji Asano
More Temples & Shrines Prints
Fushimi Inari Temple
伏見稲荷
Woodblock print
The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Temple with lanterns
Woodblock print
A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Uji Byodoin no ichibu
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Red Temple Gate was created by Takeji Asano (浅野竹二).
Red Temple Gate uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Red Temple Gate was published by Unsodo.
Red Temple Gate depicts temples & shrines and architecture.