Approach to Jakko-in Temple in Ohara, Kyoto (Jakko-in sando, Yamato)

Hiratsuka Un’ichi was one of the major figures to emerge from the sosaku hanga (creative print) movement in Japan. He taught printmaking at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from the inception of the Department of Printmaking in 1935. His mature period is characterized by prints done only in black ink, a style that sprang from his appreciation for the Japanese traditions of ink painting and line drawing. Hiratsuka’s subjects vary greatly but include Buddhist images, monuments, and portraits of friends and family members. His large pictures of temple buildings and their grounds, like this print, were produced during his most energetic period of creation in the 1960s and rank among his best-known works.