Tsuchiya Koitsu – Zojoji Temple in Snow

Original woodblock print. The first edition of this design was published in 1933. The current print was printed in the Heisei period (1989 – 2019).

Zojoji Temple in Snow forms a nice point of comparison between Tsuchiya Koitsu and other Shin-Hanga artists, such as Shiro Kasamatsu and Kawase Hasui, that depicted the same temple in snow as well. An example by Shiro Kasamatsu can be found here. The compositions are somewhat similar, with the large red temple gate contrasting with the white snow and the people walking in front of it. All succeed in capturing the beauty of the scene, and presumably the theme must have already been popular among the initial audience for the prints.

Image size (excluding margins): 36.0 * 24.0 cm (14.2 * 9.4 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949) was a Japanese woodblock print artist. He is known for his high-quality Shin hanga prints, excelling in the depiction of light and shadow and the expression of mood.

More information about Tsuchiya Koitsu and an overview of his woodblock prints can be found here.

See an overview of Tsuchiya Koitsu's woodblock prints