Nison-in temple in Saga

Nison-in is a Tendai-Pure Land temple founded in the ninth century, set in the Saga district of western Kyoto along the wooded approach known as the Path of the Maples. Tokuriki, who devoted much of his career to Kyoto's temples and shrines, treats Nison-in as a [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) subject, typically framing the long stone-paved path that leads to the main hall under arching maple branches. The composition would rely on registered color blocks for the foliage and a more linear keyblock for the temple architecture and tiled roof eaves. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) shading along the path and the distant trees gives the scene a sense of recession through the mountain setting. As with much of Tokuriki's temple work, the print combines the careful registration and clean color zones inherited from [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) workshops with the personal expressiveness of [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga), where the artist controlled the design, carving, and printing rather than dividing labor with a publisher's craftsmen.