View of Ten Thousand Lanterns at Kasuga Shrine, Nara (Nara, Kasuga jingū mantōrō zu), from the series Sacred, Historic, and Scenic Places (Seichi shiseki meishō), 1941

Color woodblock print

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries

During World War II printmaking continued despite wartime hardships, and many artists took up the subject of the war either directly or indirectly. Tokuriki’s series presents the Japanese landscape through the lens of wartime patriotism, emphasizing locales with imperial, religious, and political importance. Locations such as Ise Shrine, historically connected to the imperial family, and Meiji Shrine, dedicated to the Meiji emperor, convey a sense of national pride.
Other prints celebrate traditional famous places such as Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto and Kasuga Shrine in Nara. The prints exude a quiet dignity in alignment with government wartime values.

Quintana Heathman