The 1000 Torii at Kyoto's Fushima Inari Shrine

Description

The 1,000 Torii at Kyoto's Fushima Inari Shrine exemplifies the style that is unique to woodblock prints by Teruhide Kato. It strikes a balance between realism and abstraction, succeeding in adding to the inherent beauty of the 1000 torii. These 'Senbon Torii' are a series of gates that lead through the woods surrounding the Fushima Inari Shrine near Kyoto. This is one of the most important sacred places of the Shinto religion. Torii are often found at the entrances of Shinto shrines, but not in the number present here which is, as indicated by the name Senbon torii, close to a 1000. An interesting detail is at the very end of the series of Torii gates depicted here. Due to the interplay of sunlight and the torii there can be a mixture of darker and more shining parts. Here at the very end bright white is shown, with a red in the color of the Torii gates, making it possible to perhaps imagine the presence of a Japanese flag. Still, the most capturing aspect is without a doubt the whole of the Torii gates. One of Teruhide Kato's great strengths were his splendid compositions and choice of perspective. A good argument could be made that The 1,000 Torii at Kyoto's Fushima Inari Shrine is one of the designs where this shows the most.