Garden of Heian Jingu Shrine

The gardens of Heian Jingū, completed by the Kyoto landscape architect Ogawa Jihei VII (Ueji) between 1895 and 1916, comprise four interconnected stroll gardens (kaiyū-shiki teien) circling the main shrine compound. The Soryū-ike pond, with its zigzag granite stepping stones (sawatobi-ishi) salvaged from the demolished Sanjō Bridge, is a frequently depicted view. In a print of this subject, the composition typically traces the irregular path of stones across reflective water, framed by clipped pines, flowering azaleas, or seasonal foliage. Tokuriki would have used registered overprinting to render the contrast between dark still water and the silver-green of pond surface, with bokashi applied along the water's edges to suggest reflection. Garden subjects sit between his architectural and seasonal landscape modes, and represent the Kyoto-centric vision that distinguished his work from contemporaries such as Hasui or Yoshida who travelled more widely. The composition emphasizes ma — negative space — in the placid pond surface, a compositional value drawn from earlier Japanese garden-painting traditions.