In the Snow at Tsukahara on Sado Island

A monk in red struggles up a steep slope, sinking with each step deep into the snow. Next to him a bare tree, twisted by the weather, echoes his solitary perseverance. By contrast the houses lining the nearby shore seem huddled together for warmth, as a heavy snow fills the evening sky. The printer’s art is evident in both the subtle shading of the water, hills, and sky, and in the snowflakes, which combine printed dots and specks of gofun (ground shell) spattered from a brush.
The subject of this remarkable design is Nichiren (1222–1282), founder of the Buddhist sect bearing his name. Kuniyoshi, himself a fervent follower, created a series of ten prints commemorating the founder’s life for the 550th anniversary of his death. This scene shows Nichiren in Tsukahara on Sado Island, where he spent the years from 1271 to 1274 in exile. Nichiren’s isolation on the desolate hillside alludes to a period when he was abandoned by most of his followers; his steadfast pose echoes the strength he summoned to compose an important treatise, Kaimokusho, at Konponji temple in Tsukuhara. Two versions of this print exist, with and without a horizon line. Scholars disagree as to which is the first state. Robert Schaap notes that a break in the outline at the left edge of the print is often filled in later, as is the case in this impression.