Architecture Prints (525)
Architecture as a subject in Japanese woodblock prints encompasses buildings, bridges, gates, and structural details that document Japan's built environment across centuries. While architectural elements appear in many print genres — as settings for figure compositions, components of landscape views — prints focused primarily on architectural subjects reveal both the aesthetic qualities and historical evolution of Japanese construction. Bridge prints form a particularly rich sub-genre, with structures like the Nihonbashi (Japan Bridge) in Edo, the Kintai Bridge in Iwakuni, and the Great Bridge at Sano appearing repeatedly across the print tradition. These works showcase the woodblock medium's ability to render geometric precision alongside atmospheric effects. Castle prints similarly combine architectural documentation with dramatic composition, depicting Japan's fortified structures in varied weather and seasonal conditions. The Meiji era's introduction of Western architecture created a new category of subjects — brick buildings, iron bridges, railway stations, and lighthouses — that artists documented with a mixture of wonder and reportorial instinct. Modern prints continue to explore architectural subjects, from traditional machiya townhouses to contemporary urban structures, often emphasizing the contrasts between old and new that define Japan's built landscape.
Artists Known for Architecture
Courtesan Shirato of the Teahouse Hashimoto-ya
1886
Woodblock print
Tsukiji monseki / Site of the Gateway, Tsukiji / Tokyo meisho zue / Famous Places in Tokyo
1893 (1 September;printing; 5 September;published)
Woodblock print
Komagata-do (Komagata Hall) / Tokyo meisho zue (Famous Places in Tokyo)
1893 (1 September;printing; 5 September;published)
Woodblock print
Inn at Odawara
Japanese, Taishô era, 20th century
Woodblock print
Twelve Storied Tower, Tokyo, 1895
Japanese, Taishô era
Woodblock print
#35 Municipal Hall
Woodblock print
An Inn at Kami-suwa
Woodblock print
A Pavilion
Woodblock print
Kyoto: The Palace Wall and the Jômeimon Gate (Kyô, Tsuiji 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
Golden Pavilion - Kinkakuji
Woodblock print
Inn at Gion
Woodblock print
Fuji Northern Entrance- Asama Shrine — 富士山北口浅間神社と富士
Woodblock print
Sakurada Gate
Woodblock print
City Hall, Hibiya
Woodblock print
Wadakura Gate, from
Woodblock print
White Residence — 白い民家
Woodblock print
Children building snowman
Woodblock print
Village with torii gate and lantern
Woodblock print
Torii Gate in Bamboo Grove (1)
Woodblock print
City Gate
1967
Etching with aquatint, ink and color on paper
![[abstracted block tower] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/136050.jpg)
[abstracted block tower]
1956
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Children building snowman
Woodblock print
Ebisu Jinja Gate — 戎神社門
Woodblock print
Entrance to Golden Temple, Armistrar
Not set
Woodblock print
Gateway to Agra
ca. 1923.
Woodblock print
Entrance
1952
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Garden with Teahouse (Chashitsu no aru niwa), Shôwa period, dated 1960
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Otemon Gate
1957
Color woodblock print; edition 7/30
Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji), Shôwa period, dated 1958
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Hall of the Golden Hue, Chuson Temple, Hiraizumi, from the series “Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition” (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen, Hiraizumi Chusonji Konjikido)
October, 1935
Color woodblock print
Imhae Pavilion, Kyongju, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Keishu Rinkaitei
1940
Color woodblock print
Kikyo Gate (Kikyomon), from the series "Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tokyo nijukkei)"
Kikyomon
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at a Guest House Overlooking a Pond, from an untitled series of views of the Mitsubishi villa in Fukagawa
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at Kiyomizu Hall, Ueno (Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki)
Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Near Eiffel Tower, Paris.
Woodblock print
Kikyo-mon Gate
Woodblock print
Red Gate at Hongo in Snow
Woodblock print
Red Gate at Tokyo University
Woodblock print
Snow at Yomei Gate
Woodblock print
Snow at Yomei Gate, Nikko
日光陽明門の雪
1952
Color woodblock print
Tokyo Tower
東京タワー
c. 1960
Woodblock print
Yomei Gate in Light Rain
陽明門 小雨
1935
Color woodblock print
Iris Garden at the Katsura Imperial Villa
1955
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Teahouse, ocha
Woodblock print
Tower of Yasaka, Kyoto, Shôwa period, dated 1958
Woodblock print
Treasure Building
1963?
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Winter Mansion
n.d.
Color woodblock print
The Memorial Hall of the Earthquake in Honjo, from the series One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Imperial Diet Building
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Temporary Palace at Akasaka
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Three-Story Tower in the Inner Keep
Woodblock print
Ichiriki Tea House
Woodblock print
NISHIJIN-NO-YANAMI (Roof in Nishijin)
Woodblock print
SHIRAKAWAGO-NO-YANAMI (Roof in Shirakawa)
Woodblock print
Tsutaya, Japanese Inn
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
Temple gate
Woodblock print
Woman from Hot Spring Inn
温泉宿の女
1920
Color woodblock print
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
Tower of Kinkaku-ji Temple
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Architecture as a subject in Japanese woodblock prints encompasses buildings, bridges, gates, and structural details that document Japan's built environment across centuries. While architectural elements appear in many print genres — as settings for figure compositions, components of landscape views — prints focused primarily on architectural subjects reveal both the aesthetic qualities and historical evolution of Japanese construction.
Katsuyuki Nishijima, Hiratsuka Un'ichi, and Saito Kiyoshi are among the artists most associated with architecture in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 525 prints tagged with architecture, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.