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Mysterious Cities of Gold S01E21

Dance like you can't see anyone watching

#the mysterious cities of gold #les mystérieuses cités d'or #mcog #mysterious cities of gold #taiyou no ko esteban #1980s cartoons #esteban #zia #tao #mendoza #sancho #pedro #omuro

Asada Benji (1900-1984), published by Uchida. This woodblock print, which I've seen listed as "Cherry Blossoms at Omuro Pagoda", "Pagoda of Ninnaji Temple", or simply "Pagoda", features the famous grove of Omuro cherries surrounding the pagoda of Ninnaji in Kyoto. These trees are shorter in stature and bloom later than most sakura. Completed in 888 with close imperial associations, Ninnaji is the head temple of the Omuro school of Shingon Buddhism, home of the Omuro school of ikebana, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was devastated by fires that destroyed the original buildings, and the pagoda today dates from the 1600s.

I thought it was really interesting because I've seen photos of this piece with more yellow/orange/gold tones and a crisper, fresher, higher contrast palette - variation, or perhaps exposure/age? Normally I would have assumed exposure, but it was really interesting that flowers that are white - and not unprinted "paper white" - in the other photos I've seen are faded pink gradients here.

I did a bit more research and discovered that this version seems to be one of the trial prints! It's actually closer to the original watercolour in palette than the "final" print. I really like the effect of these colours - it's warm and soft, almost dreamy, and very nostalgic. See the sequence of trial from original watercolour to final print here: http://www.ohmigallery.com/DB/ItemDetail.asp?item=12012