Hasui’s stunning image of the Toshogu Shrine rising behind the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  The crescent moon is visible in the blue night sky.  The ancient tradition of cherry blossom viewing is still a passion in Japan.  Toshogu Shrine is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was initially built in 1617, during the Edo period, while Ieyasu’s son Hidetada was shōgun.  The original five-storey pagoda on the shrine site was donated by a daimyō.  It burned down during a fire in 1650, and was rebuilt in 1818. Each storey represents an element – earth, water, fire, wind and aether (or void)–in ascending order.

Format is Oban tate-e. This is a later edition published after 1988 with red heisei seal on right margin. 7 mm Watanabe printer seal in lower left corner of image.  Print comes in original presentation mat and is lightly hinged to the mat on left side of the print.

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