Kyoto (京都)

156 prints by 42 artists

About Kyoto

Kyoto, in the southern basin of the Yamashiro plain in west-central Honshu, served as the imperial capital of Japan from its founding as Heian-kyo in 794 until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when the imperial court relocated to the renamed Tokyo. The city is organized on a classical grid laid down at its founding in deliberate emulation of the Tang Chinese capital at Chang'an, with broad north-south avenues and an east-west cross-axis structured around the Suzaku-oji thoroughfare, and the long centuries of court patronage produced an unusually dense concentration of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, aristocratic gardens, and craft workshops, many of which became the meisho, or famous places, on which the meisho-e tradition fed. The city survived without significant destruction through the Onin War, the Meiji transition, and the Pacific War, the last in part because of deliberate U.S. military decisions to spare its historical fabric, and the result is the densest concentration of pre-modern monumental architecture in any major Japanese city. For ukiyo-e and the later shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga schools, Kyoto provided an alternative iconography to Edo, one rooted in seasonal pilgrimage, classical literature, and the visual culture of the Heian court rather than the urban entertainment districts of the eastern capital. The principal Edo-period meisho-e treatment is Utagawa Hiroshige's Famous Views of Kyoto (Kyoto meisho), a horizontal-format series of ten sheets issued by Eisendo around 1834, which covers locations including Arashiyama, Kiyomizu Temple, Gion, Yodo River, Sanjo Bridge, Tadasugawara, the Shimabara pleasure quarter, and the Kamogawa River bridges, and which remains the canonical Edo-period print survey of the city. Hokusai had earlier included scenes of the Tokaido approach to Kyoto in his Travel road compositions and in passages of the One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, Utagawa Kunisada and Toyokuni III contributed individual Kyoto theatrical and bijin sheets across the late Edo period, and Hasegawa Sadanobu I and II of the Osaka kamigata school produced their own Kyoto and Kansai meisho sets in the mid-nineteenth century. With the shin-hanga revival of the early twentieth century, Kyoto became a major subject for Kawase Hasui, who produced numerous Kyoto views including night and snow scenes of Kiyomizu, Gion, Yasaka pagoda, Heian Shrine, Sanjusangendo, and the Kamogawa, and for Yoshida Hiroshi, Tsuchiya Koitsu, Asano Takeji, and Tokuriki Tomikichiro, the last of whom, working from Kyoto itself, produced extensive Kyoto-centered series including Eight Views of Kyoto, Twelve Months of Kyoto, and the long-running Famous Places of Kyoto print sets across more than three decades. The Kyoto sosaku-hanga response was anchored by artists such as Asada Benji, Tokuriki Tomikichiro, Sekino Junichiro, and the postwar Kyoto-based creative-print circle, who worked within and around the city and brought their own creative-print idioms to its temples, gardens, and street scenes. The visual character of Kyoto in prints is built from a repeating set of motifs, including the cherry blossoms and autumn maples of Arashiyama and Higashiyama, the lantern-lit night quarters of Gion and Pontocho, the bell towers and gates of Higashi and Nishi Honganji, the wooden veranda of Kiyomizudera projecting over its hillside, the golden pavilion of Kinkakuji set on its mirror pond, the great rock garden of Ryoanji, the maiko and geiko of the entertainment districts, and the seasonal festivals such as Gion Matsuri in July, Daimonji Okuribi in August, Jidai Matsuri in October, and the cherry-blossom and autumn-foliage seasons that punctuate the calendar. Locations treated under their own entries in this database include Arashiyama, Chion-in, Daimonji, Fushimi Inari, Gion, Heian Shrine, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu Temple, Maruyama Park, Sagano, and Shirakawa. The city remains the principal pilgrimage destination in Japan for travelers seeking the world depicted in these prints, with the Higashiyama temple district, the Gion entertainment quarter, and the Arashiyama-Sagano western edge preserving the broad outlines of the meisho geography that the printmakers recorded, and the Kyoto National Museum, the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, and the Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art holding representative print collections.

Prints Depicting Kyoto (156)

A Row of Houses in Nishijin, Kyoto

Woodblock print

After a Snowfall, Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

Woodblock print

After a Snowfall, Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Amino-Kyoto

1974

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

April (Arashiyama Park, a Famous Scenic Resort)

四月 (嵐山)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Arashiyama, from the series "Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms"

1935

Color woodblock print

Arashiyama, Kyoto

n.d. [1952]

Color woodblock print

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Arishiyama, Kyoto

Woodblock print

August (The Bonfire Festival of the Daimonji Hill Viewed from the Sanjo Bridge)

八月 (三条大橋より大文字)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Autumn in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Autumn in Saga, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

Bamboo Grove of Saga

嵯峨竹林

1952

Woodblock print

bronze bell at Daibutsu-den Temple in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Cherry Blossoms at Heian Jingu Shrine

Woodblock print

Cherry Blossoms at Maruyama Park

円山公園桜

Woodblock print

Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom at Arashiyama (Arashiyama manka), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Cherry Blossoms in Rain at Arashiyama, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

Chion Temple, Kyoto, from the series "Collection of Scenic Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition" (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen, Kyoto Chionin)

August 1933

Color woodblock print

Chion-in Temple Gate (Romon), from the series Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachidai)

Romon

1935

Color woodblock print

Daikoku, God of Health, Personified by a Courtesan of the Shimabara, Kyoto

1952

Woodblock print

Daimonji-yama, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

December (Snow Scene at the Golden Pavilion)

十二月 (金閣寺雪景)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Doorway in Kyoto

1971

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Early Morning Imperial Garden, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Eight Noted Places of Kyoto- Complete Eight-Print Set With Album

Woodblock print

Enjoying the Evening Cool on the Riverbed at Shijo (Shijogawara yusuzumi), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Evening Shower at the Bank of Tadasu River (Tadasugawara no yudachi), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Fair Weather After Snow at Yamato Bridge, Kyoto (Yamato bashi no yukibare), Taishô period, dated 1924

Woodblock print

February (The Annual Festival of the Fushimi Inari)

二月 (伏見稲荷大社祭)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Fushimi Dolls

Woodblock print

Fushimi Inari Temple

伏見稲荷

Woodblock print

Garden Tenryu-ji, Kyoto

1957

Ginkakuji Temple in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Gion Bridge at Hondo Amakusa, (Amakusa Hondo Gion-bashi), from the series "Selction of Views of Japan (Nihon fukei senshu)"

Amakusa Hondo Gion-bashi

1924

Color woodblock print; oban

Gion Festival

Woodblock print

Gion in Kyoto (J)

1966

Color woodblock print; edition 51/100

Gion Shrine Gate

1935

Color woodblock print

Golden Pavilion

Woodblock print

Hanamikoji St., Kyoto

Woodblock print

Hanzenji Kyoto

Woodblock print

Heian Shrine

Woodblock print

Heian Shrine in the Spring

Woodblock print

Heian Shrine, Kyoto (Heian jingu)

1936

Color woodblock print

House in Kyoto (B)

Woodblock print

HUKURYOKU (a Kyoto street)

Woodblock print

Images of the Fifteen Ashikaga Shoguns at the Tôji-in in Kyoto (Kyôto Tôji-in, Ashikaga jûgodai mokuzô no zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road, aka Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi

Woodblock print

Jōruriji-Kyoto

1974

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

July (Gorgeous Procession of Yama-hoko or the Floats at the Gion Festival)

七月 (祇園祭山鉾巡行)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Kamo River in Kyoto (Kamogawa)

Kamogawa

1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Kamogawa in Kyoto

1933

Color woodblock print

Karasuma Street-Kyoto

1970

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion, Kyoto)

Woodblock print

Kinkakuji, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Kitashirakawa Iwabuchi Tankai in Combat with Ushiwakamaru (Yoshitsune) Before the Tenjin Temple at Gojo in Kyoto.

Woodblock print

Kiyamachi Street, Kyoto

木屋町

ca. 1950s

Woodblock print

Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Kiyomizu Temple in the Snow

Woodblock print

Kiyomizu Temple, from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Kohô-an, Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Shôwa period, dated 1961

Woodblock print

KOKOROMACHI (Kyoto Street)

Woodblock print

Koshihara Snow-Kyoto

1974

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Kozan-Ji, Kyoto (B)

Woodblock print

Kurodani Garden in Kyoto- Spring

Woodblock print

KYO NO MAIKO (Maiko of Kyoto)

Woodblock print

Kyoto

Woodblock print

Kyoto - 17 A Canal

Woodblock print

Kyoto Giion sairei 京都祇園祭礼 / Shokoku Meisho Hyakkei 諸国名所百景

Woodblock print

Kyoto Higashiyama - 京・東山

Woodblock print

Kyoto Higashiyama - 京・東山

Woodblock print

Kyoto Hokuraku

Woodblock print

Kyoto House

Woodblock print

Kyoto Port Festival — 神戸港祭

Woodblock print

Kyoto Port Festival — 神戸港祭

Woodblock print

Kyoto riverbanks

Woodblock print

Kyoto Series, No. 22B

1962

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Kyoto Series, No. 33

1966

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Kyoto Shijo

Woodblock print

Kyoto Snowfall- LE

Not set

Woodblock print

Kyoto Woodcuts

Woodblock print

Kyoto: The Palace Wall and the Jômeimon Gate (Kyô, Tsukiji Jômeimon), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi

Woodblock print

Lady in Kyoto Era (1716-1735)

Woodblock print

Late Autumn Rain, Nanzen Temple, Kyoto (Shigure no ato (Kyoto Nanzenji))

1951

Color woodblock print

Lyric Kyoto No. 2

1960

Color woodblock print

Maiko, Kyoto

舞妓京都

1961

Color woodblock print

Maiko, Kyoto (H), Shôwa period, dated 1961

Woodblock print

May (The Pagoda of Yasaka near Gion)

五月 (祇園八坂の塔)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Minakuchi, Ishibe, Kusatsu, Otsu, and Kyoto, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Five Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki goshuku meisho)"

c. 1830/35

Color woodblock print; oban

Miyako (Kyoto) Dancing

Woodblock print

Miyoshin-ji Kyoto (C)

Woodblock print

Morning Mist at Sanjô Bridge, Kyoto (Sanjô ôhashi no asagiri), Taishô period, dated 1924

Woodblock print

Night Rain in Kyoto- watercolour

Not set

Woodblock print

No Series Kyoto Snow Le

Woodblock print

Nostalgia of Kyoto (Kyoto e no omoi), Shôwa period, circa 1960s

Woodblock print

Nunnery's Garden (A) -- Kyoto Series No. 46, Shôwa period, dated 1975

Obaiin Garden at Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto

1963

Woodblock print

October (The Full-Moon Night at the Gate of the Chionin Monastery)

十月 (知恩院山門月夜)

second half 20th century

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Original Print from the publication Kyoto Woodcuts, Shôwa period, circa 1960-1978

Woodblock print

Pagoda in Kyoto- Goju no To

1942

Woodblock print

Pagoda of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Pontocho, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Rain in Sanjusangendo Temple, Kyoto

三十三間堂雨

Woodblock print

Rainy Street of Kyoto

Woodblock print

Rainy Street of Kyoto

Not set

Woodblock print

Raku Temple, Kyoto

落柿舎京都

1961

Color woodblock print

Rakuhoku in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Red Maple Trees at the Tsuten Bridge (Tsutenkyo no momiji), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Roof of Kyoto

Woodblock print

Ryôan-ji, Kyoto, Shôwa period, dated 1960

Woodblock print

Ryoanji, Kyoto (A)

1954

Color woodblock print

Saga, Kyoto (D)

1968

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Sanzen Temple, Ohara, Kyoto (Kyoto Ohara Sanzenin)

1949

Color woodblock print

Shichijo, Shinchi, Kyoto

1976

Color woodblock print; edition 16/100

Shijo Bridge in Kyoto from the Rivers Series

Woodblock print

Shijo Bridge, Kyoto #11

Woodblock print

Shimogamo-Kyoto

1971

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Shisen-do, Kyoto (G)

Woodblock print

Shisendô, Kyoto C, Shôwa period, dated 1963

Woodblock print

Shorei-matsuri, a bonfire on Mt. Daimonji in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Snow at Chion-in Temple

知恩院雪

ca. 1950s

Woodblock print

Snow at Kiyomizu Hall, Ueno (Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki)

Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki

1929

Color woodblock print; oban

Snow on the banks of the Kamo River (Kamo tsutsumi no yuki) from the series Kyoraku Meisho (Famous places about Kyoto).

Woodblock print

Snow Scene of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto

circa 1930-1950

Woodblock print

Solitude, Kyoto

1955

Color woodblock print; edition 70/150

Spring in Daigo, Kyoto (Daigo no haru Kyoto)

1950

Color woodblock print

Spring Snow at Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto (Haru no yuki [Kyoto Kiyomizu])

Haru no yuki [Kyoto Kiyomizu]

April, 1932

Color woodblock print; oban

Spring Snow at Maruyama, Kyoto

Woodblock print

Stone Garden of Ryoanji Temple, Kyoto (Ryoan Fixed Stones)

Woodblock print

Stone Garden, Kyoto

1955

Color woodblock print; edition 48/150

Syujyaku-mon Sansen-in, Kyoto

Woodblock print

TAKAGAMINE ROAD IN KYOTO

Not set

Woodblock print

The Geisha Kayo of Kyoto, Ikkaku of Osaka, and Kokichi of Tokyo

February 1877

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

The Gion Temple in Snow (Gionsha setchu), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

The Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku)

Kinkaku

1933

Color woodblock print

The Great Bridge of Sanjō in Kyoto

1927

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

the river Uji at moonrise in Kyoto

Woodblock print

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

The Village of Yase (Yase no sato), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

The Willow Tree at the Gate of Shimabara Pleasure Quarter (Shimabara deguchi no yanagi), from the series “Famous Views of Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Toriemoto, Kyoto

1971

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Tower of Yasaka, Kyoto, Shôwa period, dated 1958

Woodblock print

Twelve Views Of Kyoto Cherry Blossoms Heian Shrine

Woodblock print

Unknown- Kyoto

Not set

Woodblock print

Waitress with a Red Tray (Portrait of Onao, a Maid at the Matsuyoshi Inn, Kyoto)

1920

Woodblock print

Wall of Kyoto (A), Shôwa period, dated 1960

Woodblock print

Wall of Kyoto (B)

1960

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Winter in Jacko-in (Kyoto)

Woodblock print

Winter in Kamigamo, Kyoto (Kyoto Kamigamo no fuyu), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"

1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Women of Ôhara (Ôharame), from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

Yasaka Shrine at Gion in Kyoto

Woodblock print

Yasugi Kiyomizu Temple, Izumo Province (Izumo, Yasugi Kiyomizu), from the series "Selection of Views of Japan (Nihon fukei senshu)"

Izumo, Yasugi Kiyomizu

1926

Color woodblock print; oban

Yodo River (Yodogawa), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"

c. 1834

Color woodblock print; oban

Yoshida No Series Park In Kyoto

Woodblock print

Young Woman Applying Rouge (Portrait of Chiyofuku, a Maiko of Gion, Kyoto)

1920

Color woodblock print with mica

Artists Who Depicted Kyoto (42)

Clifton Karhu

1927–2007

Hashiguchi Goyo

橋口五葉

1880–1921

Henmi Takashi

逸見享

1895–1944

Hide Kawanishi

川西英

1894–1965

Hiratsuka Un'ichi

平塚運一

1895–1997

Hiroshi Yoshida

吉田博

1876–1950

Ido Masao

井堂雅夫

1945–2016

Insho Domoto

堂本印象

1891–1975

Ito Nisaburo

伊藤仁三郎

1910–1988

Ito Takashi

伊東孝

1894–1982

Jun'ichiro Sekino

関野準一郎

1914–1988

Kamei Tobei

亀井東平

1901–1977

Kanpo Yoshikawa

吉川観方

1894–1979

Katsuyuki Nishijima

西島勝之

1945

Kawanabe Kyosai

河鍋暁斎

1831–1889

Kawase Hasui

川瀬巴水

1883–1957

Kobayashi Kiyochika

小林清親

1847–1915

Konishi Seiichiro

小西誠一郎

Kotozuka Eiichi

琴塚英一

1906–1979

Kusaka Kenji

日下健二

1936

Maeda Masao

前田政雄

1904–1974

Maruyama Hiroshi

丸山浩司

1953

Miki Suizan

三木翠山

1883–1957

Naoko Matsubara

松原直子

1937

Nomura Yoshimitsu

野村義光

Ohno Bakufu

大野麦風

1888–1976

Okumura Koichi

奥村厚一

1904–1974

Paul Jacoulet

ポール・ジャクレー

1896–1960

Saito Kiyoshi

斎藤清

1907–1997

Sarah Brayer

1957

Shiro Kasamatsu

笠松紫浪

1898–1991

Tadashi Nakayama

中山正

1927–2014

Takahashi Rikio

高橋力雄

1917–1998

Takeji Asano

浅野竹二

1900–1999

Tanaka Ryohei

田中良平

1933–2019

Tatsuo Kawashima

川島達雄

1940

Tomikichiro Tokuriki

徳力富吉郎

1902–1999

Toyohara Chikanobu

豊原周延

1838–1912

Tsuchiya Koitsu

土屋光逸

1870–1949

Utagawa Hiroshige

歌川広重

1797–1858

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

歌川国芳

1798–1861

Yamamura Toyonari

山村豊成

1885–1942

Frequently Asked Questions

Hanga catalogues 156 prints depicting Kyoto (京都), by 42 different artists.

Clifton Karhu, Hashiguchi Goyo, and Henmi Takashi are among the 42 artists who depicted Kyoto in our collection.

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