Gion Ichiriki Tea house

The Ichiriki Chaya, located at the corner of Hanamikōji and Shijō-dōri in Gion, is one of Kyoto's older ochaya (geiko teahouses), dating to the Edo period and tied to the Chūshingura narrative — Ōishi Kuranosuke is said to have plotted the revenge of the 47 Ronin there. Its distinctive bengara-painted (red ochre) lattice façade and tile roof create a saturated red-brown plane that suits the registered color blocks of mokuhanga. In a print of this subject, the composition typically frames the corner of the building with the kōshi (vertical lattice) creating a dense rhythm against the flat washi ground, often with a stylized figure or lantern in the foreground for scale. Tokuriki's Gion subjects belong to his Kyoto cityscape body of work, complementing the temple and shrine prints with depictions of the secular cultural quarters. As a Kyoto native of twelve generations, his treatments of the geisha districts carry an insider's familiarity with the architectural character of the chaya streetscape.