Masao Ido "Kenninji Temple" Sōsaku Hanga limited edition woodblock print

Masao Ido "Kenninji Temple" (建仁寺) Sōsaku Hanga limited edition woodblock print 1985

Sunlight filters through a maple canopy onto a mossy Zen garden in Kyoto. Stepping stones lead past a thatched, bamboo-latticed gate, and a single flash of golden-yellow foliage glows behind it. In this 1985 woodblock print, Masao Ido captures the stillness of Kenninji, Kyoto's oldest Zen temple. He builds the scene from layered, hand-printed greens, from fresh spring-leaf to deep forest, against slate-grey stone and warm, gnarled bark. The grain of the wood shows through the colour fields, a hallmark of true sōsaku hanga, in which the artist is responsible for the whole process.

The print is titled in Japanese, dated '85, numbered, and signed in pencil. It also bears Ido's red seal. It comes in a slim dark wooden frame with an off-white mat, ready to hang. A quiet, meditative piece that works equally well in a mid-century, minimalist or Japandi interior.

Details

• Artist: Masao Ido (井堂雅夫)
• Title: Kenninji (建仁寺), inscribed in pencil
• Date: 1985
• Edition: 45/150
• Signed in pencil, with the artist's red seal
• Framed: H. 45 x W. 57 x D. 3 cm (H. 17.7 x W. 22.4 x D. 1.2 in)

About the artist

Masao Ido was born in 1945 in Beipiao, in northeast China, and his family later settled in Kyoto. As a young man he apprenticed with the kimono fabric dyer Mitsuho Yoshida. In 1972 he studied woodblock printing under Shigenari Otsubo. He turned to printmaking after seeing the work of Saitō Kiyoshi. He became known for serene landscapes of gardens, quiet streets and temple gates, with subtle colour layering that gives depth and richness. His prints are in the collections of institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He died in 2016, which makes his prints increasingly sought after.

About Kenninji

Kenninji, in Kyoto's Higashiyama district near Gion, was founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai. It is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto and one of the city's great Rinzai Zen temples. Eisai is also credited with introducing tea culture to Japan, so the temple's garden carries a link to the tea ceremony. Its treasures include the monumental "Twin Dragons" ceiling painting in the Dharma Hall (2002) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu's famous Wind and Thunder Gods screens. The temple is open to the public, and its courtyards and moss gardens are still among the calmest places in the city.

Condition

Wear consistent with age and use.