Sacred Garden of the Meiji Shrine

By Hiroshi Yoshida

Sacred Garden of the Meiji Shrine
1920
Color Woodblock Print
52" x 12"
nfs
MBFA
framed in maple

This print is the star attraction of our exhibit. Made in 1920 as part of a nation-wide fundraising effort to build the Meiji shrine in downtown Tokyo (in honor of the Meiji empress and emperor), it was Hiroshi Yoshida's first print project. Originally part of an editions of 3000 most of which were mounted to scrolls, this particular print was never mounted and remained for 100 years in the collection of the Yoshida family. It is thought Hiroshi Yoshida kept this particular impression for himself. Aspects of its appearance are distinct from other known impressions, the location of signature and publisher markings for instance, is unique. We think of it, as a selected impression of H. Yoshida's first print, as a portal for H. Yoshida (40 years old at the time of this print's manufacture) into a career of color woodblock printmaking.