Stone Garden Kyoto [Ryōanji], 1955

Color woodblock print

17 1/2 x 23 3/8 inches (44.5 x 59.4 cm)

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Print Club of Philadelphia Permanent Collection, 1959

1959-51-28

Saitō represents the famous stone garden of Ryōanji as an abstracted form, reducing nature into the two elements of geometric shapes and pure white sand. Here, the viewer looks out at the garden from the inside of the temple’s living quarters. The massive wooden verandah is boldly represented with a wide portion of the color black which occupies more than a half of the image. The horizon line makes an effective contrast to the white sand in the sun.

Olivia Pei