Evening Bell at Mii-dera Temple

Miidera, also known as Onjøji, is the head temple of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. Built on a hill overlooking Lake Biwa, the temple compound consists of many buildings constructed over the temple's long history. For this print, Hiroshige depicted the temple from an unusual vantage point which shows the southern slope of the compound rather than the more famous view of the lake on the east side. He did not depict the temple's famous bell either, after which the theme of evening bells was named. Nonetheless, this peaceful landscape under a yellow sky conveys the serene beauty of an evening at the mountain temple, where the only sound might have been that of the bell summoning the monks to their evening devotions.