About This Print
Imakumano Kannon-ji, founded in the early 9th century, is located in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. It is the 15th temple on the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage route.
The prayer for the Kannon statue of Imakumano Kannon-ji is said to have relieved Emperor Go-Shirakawa of severe headaches. Since then, the visit to the temple has had a reputation for promoting the recovery of diseases, particularly headaches and migraines.
Crossing the bridge is an act of purification, and a symbolic motion from the everyday world into the sacred space.
The main enshrined image (honzon) of the temple is the bodhisattva Kannon Jūichimen.
image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kannonji_(Higashiyama-ku,_Kyoto)_sando.jpg?uselang=de
Comparison of 1925 and 1946 Issues
This collection contains prints from both the 1925 and 1946 releases. I prefer the earlier release which has a more painterly quality, likely closer to the artist's original drawing the print was based upon.
The two editions (1925 left, 1946 right) show significant differences suggesting either
extensive touching-up of the original blocks or newly carved blocks.
The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (Saigoku sanjūsansho junrei)
Sources: website of cultural anthropologist Martin Gray http://www.taleofgenji.org/saigoku_pilgrimage.html and "Buddhist Pilgrim/Buddhist Exile: Old and New Images of Retired Emperor Kazan in the Saigoku Kannon Temple Guidebooks," Mark MacWilliams, appearing in History of Religions, May, 1995, Vol. 34, No. 4, The University of Chicago Press, p. 303-328.
Japan's most famous pilgrimage, originating in the 11th century, encompasses 33 Buddhist temples in Western Japan (Kansai region) dedicated to Kannon (bodhisattva Avalokitasvara), the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who hears the cries of the world and assists anyone in distress.
The 33 temples on the approximately 1,000 kilometer pilgrimage route correspond to Kannon's ability to take on 33 different forms. One hundred thousand pilgrims navigate the route in its entirety or part each year.
Note: For a listing of all 33 temples go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saigoku_Kannon_Pilgrimage. To access an interactive map of the route and its temples go to https://www.thetempleguy.org/p/saigoku-33-kannon-route.html and scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
About the "Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces"
First issued in 1925 and reprinted in 1946, the 1925 album contains 58 prints and the 1946 album 59 prints. For detailed discussion of the two editions and additional information on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage see this site's article Nakazawa Hiromitsu - Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces.
click on the image to go to the article
Print Details
IHL Catalog
#2244 (1925 release) and #1858 (1946 release)
Title or Description
Imakumano Kannon-ji 今熊野観音寺 (temple 15)
Series
Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces
西国三十三所巡礼画巻 Saigoku sanjūsansho junrei gakan
Artist
Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874-1964)
Signature
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 中澤弘光 [Nakazawa Hiromitsu] printed in lower right margin as shown left
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): not signed
Seal of the artist
IHL Cat. #2244
(1925 release)
弘 Hiro
IHL Cat. #1858
(1946 release)
弘 Hiro
Publication Date
IHL Cat. #2244: June 15, 1925 大正十四年六月十五日発行 舞鶴要塞可令部検閲済 [As printed in the right margin of this collection's 1925 print Matsunoo-dera IHL Cat. #2245, the only print in the album that carries a date. The date is followed by an inscription indicating the print was inspected and approved by the authorities at the Maizuru Fort Headquarters, 舞鶴要塞可令部検閲済 (Maizuru Fort Headquarters Inspection Approval). Note that the date of publication on the colophon accompanying the complete 1925 album is September 28, 1925 大正十四年九月十八日発行.]
IHL Cat. #1858: January 18, 1946 昭和二十一年一月十八日発行 [Individual prints in the 1946 release are not dated. This date taken from a 1946 album colophon.]
Publisher
發行者 金尾種次郎 publisher Kanao Tanejirō
發兌元 金尾文淵堂 publishing house Kanao Bun'endō
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 文淵堂版 [Bun'endō han] printed in lower right margin as shown left
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): no publisher seal
Carver
Okada Seijirō 岡田清次郎 and Ōkura Fujitarō (Ōkura Tōtarō?) 大倉藤太郎
Note on carvers: the above information is taken from the detailed information in the ADEAC system for the 1925 release. While the printer Okada is well known, the second listed printer 大倉藤太郎 is not and I can find no information on him.
Printer
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925): Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉 and
Yamagata Hidesuki? 山県秀助
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉 and
Takagi Seikō (Kiyomitsu?) 高木淸光
Note on the printers: the above information is taken from the colophon included in the 1946 release and the detailed information in the ADEAC system for the 1925 release. As to the printer Nishimura Kumakichi, given as one of the printers for both the 1925 and 1946 release, there is some uncertainty about the date of his death, although a birth date, either 1861 or 1862 [Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, Merritt, p. 223], is generally accepted. A death date of 1941 is sometimes given and 1955 has been suggested, but Merritt provides no date of death. If he truly did the printing for the 1946 release he would have been 85 at that time. I could find no information on the second printer listed for the 1946 release 高木淸光, nor for the printer 山県秀助 listed as the second printer for the 1925 release.
Impression
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent
Colors
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent
Condition
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent
Genre
shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour)
Miscellaneous
temple/print number 15 appearing in the right margin of the 1925 release
Format
horizontal oban
H x W Paper
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm)
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): 9 1/16 x 12 in. (23 x 30.5 cm)
H x W Image
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 8 3/8 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm)
IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (21.6 x 29.2 cm)
Literature
Collections This Print
National Diet Library Call Number 寄別7-8-2-5 (1925 album, no images displayed); National Library Board, Singapore BRN:9854371 (entire 1946 album, no images shown); British Library System number: 017018582 (entire 1946 album, no images shown); Harvard Yenching Library HOLLIS number 990082993710203941 (1925 album, no images displayed)
| IHL Catalog |
#2244 (1925 release) and #1858 (1946 release) | ||
| Title or Description | Imakumano Kannon-ji 今熊野観音寺 (temple 15) | ||
| Series | Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces 西国三十三所巡礼画巻 Saigoku sanjūsansho junrei gakan |
||
| Artist | Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874-1964) |
||
| Signature |
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 中澤弘光 [Nakazawa Hiromitsu] printed in lower right margin as shown left IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): not signed
|
||
| Seal of the artist |
|
||
| Publication Date | IHL Cat. #2244: June 15, 1925 大正十四年六月十五日発行 舞鶴要塞可令部検閲済 [As printed in the right margin of this collection's 1925 print Matsunoo-dera IHL Cat. #2245, the only print in the album that carries a date. The date is followed by an inscription indicating the print was inspected and approved by the authorities at the Maizuru Fort Headquarters, 舞鶴要塞可令部検閲済 (Maizuru Fort Headquarters Inspection Approval). Note that the date of publication on the colophon accompanying the complete 1925 album is September 28, 1925 大正十四年九月十八日発行.] IHL Cat. #1858: January 18, 1946 昭和二十一年一月十八日発行 [Individual prints in the 1946 release are not dated. This date taken from a 1946 album colophon.] |
||
| Publisher | 發行者 金尾種次郎 publisher Kanao Tanejirō 發兌元 金尾文淵堂 publishing house Kanao Bun'endō IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): no publisher seal |
||
| Carver | Okada Seijirō 岡田清次郎 and Ōkura Fujitarō (Ōkura Tōtarō?) 大倉藤太郎 Note on carvers: the above information is taken from the detailed information in the ADEAC system for the 1925 release. While the printer Okada is well known, the second listed printer 大倉藤太郎 is not and I can find no information on him. |
||
| Printer | IHL Cat. #2244 (1925): Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉 and Yamagata Hidesuki? 山県秀助 IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉 and Takagi Seikō (Kiyomitsu?) 高木淸光 Note on the printers: the above information is taken from the colophon included in the 1946 release and the detailed information in the ADEAC system for the 1925 release. As to the printer Nishimura Kumakichi, given as one of the printers for both the 1925 and 1946 release, there is some uncertainty about the date of his death, although a birth date, either 1861 or 1862 [Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, Merritt, p. 223], is generally accepted. A death date of 1941 is sometimes given and 1955 has been suggested, but Merritt provides no date of death. If he truly did the printing for the 1946 release he would have been 85 at that time. I could find no information on the second printer listed for the 1946 release 高木淸光, nor for the printer 山県秀助 listed as the second printer for the 1925 release. |
||
| Impression | IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent |
||
| Colors | IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent |
||
| Condition | IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): excellent IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): excellent |
||
| Genre | shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour) | ||
| Miscellaneous |
|
||
| Format | horizontal oban |
||
| H x W Paper |
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm) IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): 9 1/16 x 12 in. (23 x 30.5 cm) |
||
| H x W Image |
IHL Cat. #2244 (1925 release): 8 3/8 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm) IHL Cat. #1858 (1946 release): 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (21.6 x 29.2 cm) |
||
| Literature | |||
| Collections This Print |
National Diet Library Call Number 寄別7-8-2-5 (1925 album, no images displayed); National Library Board, Singapore BRN:9854371 (entire 1946 album, no images shown); British Library System number: 017018582 (entire 1946 album, no images shown); Harvard Yenching Library HOLLIS number 990082993710203941 (1925 album, no images displayed) |
last revision:
12/20/2020
7/4/2020
6/30/2020
2/22/2020
1/6/2020 created
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