Description
With its structure enlivened by 400 polychrome and golden sculptures of the Kano school (狩野派) depicting giraffes, lions, dragons, birds, flowers and phoenixes, children, wise old men and immortal creatures, the “gate of the sun” Yomeimon (陽明門) is undoubtedly one of the most striking elements of the temple complex Nikko Toshogu (日光東照宮) and is so fascinating that it has also been renamed Higurashi no Mon (日暮御門), the gate that can be admired from dawn to dusk without getting tired.
In one of the columns of the gate the sculptures were deliberately made upside down to placate the evil spirits: it was thought, in effect, that the artistic opulence could trigger their anger.
Here we see the famous monument depicted in a beautiful woodblock print in very good condition and made in 1960 by the artist Maeda Masao (前田政雄) for the series “Woodcuts of Japanese National Parks” (国立公園木版画集) produced by the National Parks Association (国立公園協会).
