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
Georgetown University Clock Tower
1967
Woodblock print
Great Eastern Gate, Seoul, Korea
1934
Woodblock print
Great Gate of Koyasan
Shōwa period, dated 1941
Woodblock print; ink on paper
Hexagonal Hall for Buddhist Scriptures at Kokei-zan Temple, Gifu
1952
Woodblock print
Horse and Rider, from roof tile
1935
Woodblock print
Horse Pulling Carriage with Drive, from roof tile
1935
Woodblock print
Kuromon Gate, from the series "One Hundred Views of New Tokyo (Shin Tokyo hyakkei)"
1930
Color woodblock print
Main South Gate in Seoul
Woodblock print
Nishdai Gate, Horyu Temple
1948
Woodblock print
Observatory Tower of Kyongju in Korea
1960
Woodblock print
Old Roof Tile of Kokobunji Temple, Izumo (Izumo Kokubunji Furu-gawara)
1985
Woodblock print
Partial Rosette Segment from a Roof Tile and Peony from a Roof Tile
1930s
Woodblock prints
Rosette-like Segment of Tile, from roof tile
1932
Woodblock print
Rosette-X in Center, from roof tile
1930s
Woodblock print
Sakurada-mon Gate (Eight Imperial Moat series)
1929
Color woodblock print
Structural Interior of Tengaimon Gate
1960
Woodblock print
The Kaminari Gate, Asakusa, from the series Scenes After the Tokyo Earthquake
1925
Color woodblock print
Torii Gate
Woodblock print
White Character, from roof tile
1940
Woodblock print
At the beautiful gate
1968
Stencil print, ink and color on paper
The Tower of Babel
1965
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Building
Woodblock print
SUNA-NO TO (tower of sand
Woodblock print
Hara: Roof-tile Reflections of Mt. Fuji
Woodblock print
Kameyama: Samurai Mansion
Woodblock print
Kusatsu: Entrance to the Tea House
Woodblock print
Yoshida: Willow and Private Estate
Woodblock print
Water-Drawing Festival (omizutori) at the Nigatsudo Hall of Todaiji, Nara
2000
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Fight on the Roof of the Hôryûkaku
1887
The Two Brave Men Inuzuka Shino and Inugai Genpachi Battling on the Roof of Horyukaku (Horyukaku ryoyu tsutomu)
September 1887
Color woodblock prints; oban diptych
Urashima Taro Returning Home from the Palace of the Dragon King (Urashima Taro no ko kikoku ju Ryugujo no zu)
1886
Color woodblock print; oban diptych
Famous Views of the Tokaido: The Rashomon Gate as It Was Once Was
Woodblock print
Mariko in Suruga Province: Comic Antics at the Inn (Shukuba no kyôgi), from the series Calligraphy and Pictures for the Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô (Shoga gojûsan eki)
Woodblock print
Building of Tokyo Daily Newspaper, Ginza, Tokyo, 1876
Woodblock print
Entrance to the Harbor of Port Arthur, Picture of the Hard Struggle of the Battleship Hatsuse
March 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Main Gate of the Second Exposition at Tokyo_
May 1881
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of the Fall of Jinzhou Fortress' Yong'an Gate, Private First Class Onoguchi Tokuji
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Opening the Teahouse
Woodblock print
Picture of Minister Ōtori Entering the Palace with Daewongun
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
View of the Higurashi gate
Woodblock print
Banquet at the New Imperial Palace
Woodblock print
Moonviewing Banquet at Yoshino Imperial Palace
Woodblock print
Women Naginata Warriors, Gaurdians of the Chiyoda Palace, Covering the Retreat from a Burning Castle
Woodblock print
Katsura Villa
Shōwa period, dated 1977
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Famous Views of Japan: Night View of Yomeimon Gate (Nihon meisho zu-e: Yomeimon)
Woodblock print
Famous Views of Japan: The Torii Gate at Miyajima (Nihon meisho zu-e: Miyajima no torii)
Woodblock print
A Perspective View: The Two Deva Kings Gate of Kinryuzan Temple (Ukie: Kinryuzan niomon no zu)
1781/89
Color woodblock print
Palace of the Queen Mother of the West (Seiōbo, Ch. Xiwangmu)
ca. 1779-94
The Myoken Hall of the Hosshoji Temple at Yanagishima
1785-1787
Kojimachi at Benkei Moat, from Sakurada Gate
Woodblock print
Picture of a Foreign Building in Yokohama, dated 1861
Woodblock print
#31 Makibashira (Cypress pillar)
Woodblock print
Inuzuka Shino Moritaka defending himself against Inukai Kempachi Nobumichi and men on the Horyukaku roof.
Woodblock print
Inuzuka Shino Moritaka Resisting Arrest on the Horyukaku Roof
Woodblock print
Mino, Ushiwaka Maru at the Inn, sword in hand. Bijin mitate.
Woodblock print
Ichiriki on Hanamikoji
1979
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Doorway in Kyoto
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Corner House-Fukuoka
1963
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Amino-Kyoto
1974
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Hiroshima
1964
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
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.