Keyblock Of the print Heian shrine

Heian Jingu in Kyoto, founded in 1895 to commemorate the city's eleven-hundredth anniversary, is a partial reconstruction of the Heian-period imperial palace complex, featuring a vermillion daigokuden and a tall otorii standing on the approach. This impression presents only the keyblock—the foundational black-line carving from which the polychrome print would be developed. The keyblock reveals the structure's bracketing, tile patterns, and architectural detail without the subsequent layers of color, allowing the precision of the carving to be examined directly. Tokuriki occasionally issued such single-state impressions, either as study sheets accompanying his teaching practice or as standalone works valued for their graphic clarity. Within his body of Kyoto monuments, the Heian Jingu subject sits alongside his views of Kiyomizudera, Kinkaku-ji, and other major sites that anchor his sustained portrayal of the old capital.