Hayashi Buntō (1882–1966)
Scenes of Kyoto
Japan, c. 1950
One of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper
Gift of Terry Welch, 2021 (2021-03-068a-b)
Full scroll part 1
Full scroll part 2
The official move of the capital to Tokyo in 1868 was devastating for Kyoto, which had been the heart of Japanese culture for more than a thousand years. As modernization ironically inspired a renewed appreciation for history, though, Kyoto soon regained its place as the center of both the nation’s cultural heritage, and of movements to modernize traditional Japanese art. Buntō’s scrolls lead the viewer on a journey through highlights of Kyoto’s temples, shrines, and other historic sites, beginning in the south with the famous rows of red torii arches at Fushimi Inari Shrine. From there the scenes move northward, including such landmarks as the elevated viewing platform at Kiyomizu Temple; Yasaka Pagoda; the entrance to Nanzen Temple; the massive torii at Heian Shrine (built in 1895); the Silver Pavilion; and Arashiyama (see Ishikawa Ryūjō’s Arashiyama in Spring). The trip then turns south toward the old Imperial Palace and town center.
The viewer is led through the city, stopping for snacks such as dango glutinous rice dumplings and persimmons; enjoying a cup of tea from a streetside stall; crossing the Kamo River at Sanjō Bridge (the end of the old Tōkaidō Eastern Sea Route); and cooling down from the summer heat while having a meal on a platform set up right on the river.
It is noteworthy that unlike Nakagawa Wadō’s Views of Osaka, Buntō completely ignores Kyoto’s modern buildings, railways, etc. and presents it instead as a historic center of sophisticated art and culture, an image the city still actively cultivates today.