Botandai, Heijo, Korea

A view of Botandai (Moranbong), a hill on the Taedong River in Heijo—the Japanese-period name for Pyongyang—dating from the era when Korea was under Japanese colonial administration (1910-1945). Hiratsuka traveled in Korea and produced a body of prints documenting its temples, gates, and landscapes. Botandai is one of Pyongyang's notable scenic landmarks, historically associated with pavilions including the Ulmildae and Choesungdae perched above the river. The print likely depicts the hill's silhouette, its pine trees, or one of its pavilions rendered in Hiratsuka's heavy black ink against carved white reserved areas. His Korean subjects, like his Japanese architectural prints, emphasize structural drawing—rooflines, eaves, stone foundations—over atmospheric effect. These works form part of a wider documentary project across East Asian sites that preoccupied many Japanese artists of the Showa period. The use of the Japanese-era place name 'Heijo' rather than the contemporary 'Pyongyang' dates the print to the colonial period, offering a record of how the Korean built environment was viewed and represented within early-twentieth-century Japanese visual culture.