Kinkakuji Temple in Snow (Translation)
Japanese Sceneries (Series Title)
川瀬巴水 日本風景選集 雪の金閣寺 大正十一年 木版画 (Primary Title)
Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水, Japanese, 1883 - 1957 (Artist)
Watanabe Shōzaburō 渡邊庄三郎, Japanese, 1885 - 1962 (Publisher)
Renowned for the Golden Pavilion refurbished with gold foil in its restoration in 1987, Kinkakuji Temple was first built as a villa by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the late 14th century. Following his bequest, the villa was reconstructed as a Zen Buddhist temple in 1420. Over the centuries, the temple suffered various fires; the latest, set by a young monk in 1950, burned down the three-story pavilion along with the treasures housed within. This print created in 1922 captures the scene before this disaster. The close-up view of the blue pavilion shrouded in heavy snowfall may forecast this tragic incident, conveying psychological and religious messages about postwar society in Japan and the complexity of human character.
Taisho period (1912-1926)
巴水 Hasui
Artist's seal; Publisher's seal Watanabe Shōzaburō
雪の金閣寺 大正十一年作
René and Carolyn Balcer Collection
1979渡辺／川瀬巴水…627／*** 昭和初年 無外題 加藤版 3 金閣寺の暮雪
©artist or artist’s estate
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