Pagoda of Joruriji (Joruriji no to, Yamato)

Although he always began his woodblock carvings with a drawing, Hiratsuka Un’ichi also changed his designs while he worked, as if drawing on the wood with his knife. He is regarded as the best-trained block carver in the creative print movement, and in 1970 he became the first printmaker to receive the Order of Cultural Merit from the Japanese government. In this print, the viewer’s eye is led up stone steps to a three-story pavilion on the grounds of Joruriji Temple. The foliage enveloping the pavilion is carved with various patterns that depict the species of the trees without the need for color.