PVP. 500 €

Original woodblock print on Washi paper. First edition in 1953. This is an edition from the Heisei period (1989-2019), printed with the original woodblocks.

This is one of Takeji Asano's most famous woodblock prints. He did the design when he was active as an artist for Unsodo Publishing. During that time he made a series of prints with typical themes of

Shin-Hanga, as can be seen in this print. It features an imposing temple gate, the beauty of the red gate enhanced with a white snow cover and setting, and a man and woman who brave the winter chill to visit. Famous places, the beauty of nature, and a human element along with them are a common presence in many Shin-Hanga prints, but not often in such a perfect composition as the one Takeji Asano created here.

The tower gate depicted is the Romon Gate of the Kamigamo Shrine temple complex in Kyoto, one of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in Japan, where to this day many people come to pray.