KinryÅ«zan Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa KinryÅ«zan), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei) Possibly 1856

Curator: Look at the scale of the lantern! It dominates the foreground, almost obscuring the temple behind it. Editor: Indeed. This vertical ōban print, by Utagawa Hiroshige, presents Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa, part of his "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" series. Notice how the snow simplifies the forms, flattening the perspective. Curator: The woodblock printing process itself fascinates me. Think of the labor invested to produce such an image, the carving of the blocks, the application of pigment, the pressure exerted. Editor: Absolutely! And how the printing technology democratized the image, making these views of Edo accessible to a wide audience. The temple itself, as a site of pilgrimage, was already a point of intersection for diverse social strata. Curator: This print really emphasizes the role of such imagery within the social fabric of Edo. Editor: It's a powerful reminder of the interplay between material culture and societal values.