Hundred Views of Kyoto - Nison-in Temple 二尊院 - Limited Edition - Masao Ido 井堂雅夫 (1945 - 2016) - Japan

Ido Masao created the Hundred Views of Kyoto series (Kyoto Hyakkei) in 2009. Kyoto is the city where Masao Ido lived most of his life, and which he portrayed with great affection. This immense project of 100 different prints divided into 10 sets, each depicting a different area of Kyoto, was issued in a beautiful wooden chest with drawers. Although it is officially an open edition, at the time it was already a very exclusive and pricey collection. Imagine buying 100 prints in one time! Nowadays, it is near to impossible to find the complete series with chest.

This particular print is of Volume 2: Ten Views of Sagano - Nison-in Temple. Nison-in (二尊院) is a Tendai Buddhist temple complex in Ukyō-ku, a western ward in the city of Kyoto, Japan. The temple's official name is Ogura-yama Nison-kyō-in Keidai-ji (小倉山 二尊教院 華台寺). The temple is a popular destination during the Japanese maple viewing season (the momiji season). The temple derives its name from the fact that there are two main images here - one statue of the founding Buddha and another statue of one who has reached enlightenment; or in short, Nison refers to these "two revered images". Both of these Heian period Buddhist statues are designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan. Nison-in was founded in the early Heian period. Emperor Saga initiated the establishment of the temple in 834, and today it is part of the Enryaku-ji temple group. None of the original structures survived destruction during the Onin War (1467–1477). (source: Wikipedia)

This print is in excellent condition. It has never been framed and always stored in a dark place.

Masao Ido was born in 1945 in Beipiao in Northeastern China. After his family returned to their hometown of Kyoto in 1960, he began his artistic career under Koho Yoshida, working with dyes, before shifting to contemporary woodblock prints in 1972. Under the tutelage of Shigechika Ohtsubo, Masao Ido honed his distinct woodblock print style. His work captures a sense of tranquility, whether in the sloping eaves of old houses or lush gardens. Masao Ido has exhibited his work worldwide. His contemporary woodblock prints can be found in numerous permanent collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.