Miyajima in autumn

This autumn variant of Koitsu's Miyajima compositions draws on Itsukushima's cultivated maple groves, which were established at the base of Mount Misen during the Edo period and remain a primary draw for the November tourist season. The print likely substitutes scarlet, ochre, and vermillion foliage for the cooler greens of his summer Miyajima designs, framing the floating torii or the shrine's vermilion corridors against densely registered momiji blocks. Autumn-foliage subjects gave [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) printers an excuse to deploy deeply saturated reds, often layered through multiple impressions of the [baren](/glossary/baren) to build chromatic depth on the absorbent [washi](/glossary/washi). Koitsu and Doi Hangaten produced seasonal variants for many subjects — snow, summer, autumn — allowing collectors to acquire pairs or sets keyed to a single famous place. The Miyajima autumn print sits in this seasonal-variant tradition, with the redoubled red of lacquered architecture and foliage creating a chromatic intensity uncommon in his more characteristic moonlit and snow-bound designs.