Ajmer Gate, Jaipur (Jaipuuru no Ajumeru mon)

The most striking feature of the Japanese artist Yoshida Hiroshi’s prints is the light that they capture of the scene on display. It is believed that the artist was especially struck by the quality of light in India and strove to express it sincerely. This is what lends his works a rare luminosity, as evident in this Kokka woodblock print titled Ajmer Gate, Jaipur. Awash with sunlight, it records a regular day at the fort entrance with elephants ambling by with their mahaouts, itinerant merchants squatting with their wares, and regular passersby crowding about.