Architecture

Many architectural styles have developed over the course of Japanese history. Traditional Japanese architecture is characterized by a preference for natural building materials, including wood, reed, bark, clay, and stones. The appreciation of exuberant colors and complexity of form in contrast to the restrained tradition and simplicity of design found in Japanese architecture can also be found in woodblock print art. Regardless of whether circumstances call for exuberance or restraint, Japanese architects, artists, builders, and crafters pay close attention to detail, and a close-up inspection of their work often reveals intricate details of interest.

A Picture of the Venue of the Second National Industrial Exhibition in Ueno Park, Tokyo

 by Utagawa Hiroshige III 

     Part of a triptych (left). Fountain produced by the First Japanese Manufacturing and Trading Company. It stands at a height of 1 jō and 5 shaku according to the label on the print. It is on the grounds of the Second National Industrial Exhibition circa 1885.

Evening at Shiogama

     Shiogama (塩竈市) is a city on the ocean in Miyagi Prefecture Japan. In this print, we see a spring evening marked by cherry blossoms (sakura, 桜). A building is reflected in the water below and people are milling about in the road.

Snow at Nikko's Yomeimon (Sun Gate)

     This scene shows the Sun Gate (Yomeimon, 陽明門) at Nikko (日光) in the snow. Toshogu Shrine (Tōshōgū, 東照宮) is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light".