Landscape of Fukakusa, southern Dinstinct of Kyoto

Insho made his debut as a painter with this painting; it was the first work he had submitted to an exhibition publicly soliciting entries and it was the first to be accepted. To paint this landscape, he visited Fukakusa, in the southeastern suburbs of Kyoto City, and made several sketches. Yet, rather than realistically depicting a specific locality, his intention was to create a scene in a farming village after harvest using a sepia tone to express the tranquility of late autumn. The slight distortion from either side to the center invites viewers into a universe with a strange perspective. This work is characteristic of Taisho-era Nihon-ga, in which lines and shading were skillfully used to create a three-dimensional effect, actively employing the techniques of Western painting.