About This Print
Nakazawa pictures two weary pilgrims with what appears to be heavy loads on their backs walking in the grounds of Iwama-dera, the twelfth temple along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.
Along with his two traveling companions, the poet Ishikura Suiyō and the artist Akatsuka Chūichi, Nakazawa undertook this 600 mile pilgrimage in December 1923, only three months after the Great Kantō Earthquake devastated the Tokyo area.
For more information on their pilgrimage see the article Nakazawa Hiromitsu - Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces.
Iwama-dera, also known as Shōbō-ji, was founded in 722 by the shugendō monk Taichō (682-767) who received permission to build the temple after curing Empress Genshō of an illness. Iwama-dera is located on Mount Iwama on the border between Otsu and Uji in Shiga Prefecture. It is one of the less visited temples on the pilgrimage. It is known for its unusual statue of Kannon Bosatsu that, according to legend, constantly sweats.
The main enshrined image (honzon) of the temple is the bodhisattva Kannon Senjū.
The temple, visited by Basho in 2687, inspired him to write the following haiku:
Old pond/frog jumps into/sound of water
The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (Saigoku sanjūsansho junrei)
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
#2318 and #2413.20 Title or Description Iwama-dera (temple 12)
岩間寺 (十二) 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 
中澤弘光 [Nakazawa Hiromitsu] printed in lower right margin as shown left Seal of the artist 
弘 Hiro Publication Date Published September 28, 1925 大正十四年九月十八日発行 as printed in the 1925 album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. #2413).
Note: an earlier date of June 15, 1925 大正十四年六月十五日 appears in the right margin of the print titled Matsunoo-dera [IHL Cat. #2245], the only print in the 1925 album which carries a date. This earlier date, however, is the date that the censor's approval was obtained, as further explained on this site's web page for Matsunoo-dera, rather than the publishing date. 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
文淵堂版 [Bun'endō han] printed in lower right margin as shown left Carver Okada Seijirō 岡田清次郎
Note: the album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. 2413) lists two carvers, the above well-known Okada Seijirō and 大倉藤太郎, possibly read Okura Tōtarō, who I can find no information on. Printer Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉
Note: the album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. 2413) lists three printers, the above well-known Nishmura Kumakichi; 山県秀助, possibly read Yamagata Hidesuki, who I can find no information on, and 松本兄弟堂, a company founded in Osaka by Matsumoto Kisaburō 松本喜三郎 in 1923, which I believe did the letterpress printing. Impression IHL Cat. #2318: excellent
IHL Cat. #2413.20: excellent Colors IHL Cat. #2318: excellent
IHL Cat. #2413.20: fair - heavy toning throughout darkening colors Condition IHL Cat. #2318: excellent - minor marks and soiling
IHL Cat. #2413.20: poor - heavy toning; red staining lower left margin; right margin edge folds and small tears
Genre shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour) Miscellaneous 
temple/print number 12 appearing in the right margin of the 1925 release Format horizontal oban
H x W Paper
IHL Cat. #2318: 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm)
IHL Cat. #2413.20: 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm) H x W Image
IHL Cat. #2318: 8 1/2 x 11 9/16 in. (21.6 x 29.4 cm)
IHL Cat. #2413.20: 8 1/2 x 11 9/16 in. (21.6 x 29.4 cm) Literature Nakazawa Hiromitsu kenkyū: Hon karano kenshō, Hiromitsu Nakazawa, Mitsunobu Satō, et. al., Mitsui Kōkei, Tokyo, 2006, p. 46-48. 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 | #2318 and #2413.20 |
| Title or Description | Iwama-dera (temple 12) 岩間寺 (十二) |
| 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 | |
| Seal of the artist | |
| Publication Date | Published September 28, 1925 大正十四年九月十八日発行 as printed in the 1925 album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. #2413). Note: an earlier date of June 15, 1925 大正十四年六月十五日 appears in the right margin of the print titled Matsunoo-dera [IHL Cat. #2245], the only print in the 1925 album which carries a date. This earlier date, however, is the date that the censor's approval was obtained, as further explained on this site's web page for Matsunoo-dera, rather than the publishing date. |
| 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 |
| Carver | Okada Seijirō 岡田清次郎 Note: the album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. 2413) lists two carvers, the above well-known Okada Seijirō and 大倉藤太郎, possibly read Okura Tōtarō, who I can find no information on. |
| Printer | Nishimura Kumakichi 西村熊吉 Note: the album's colophon (see Album Box with Print of Kannon IHL Cat. 2413) lists three printers, the above well-known Nishmura Kumakichi; 山県秀助, possibly read Yamagata Hidesuki, who I can find no information on, and 松本兄弟堂, a company founded in Osaka by Matsumoto Kisaburō 松本喜三郎 in 1923, which I believe did the letterpress printing. |
| Impression | IHL Cat. #2318: excellent IHL Cat. #2413.20: excellent |
| Colors | IHL Cat. #2318: excellent IHL Cat. #2413.20: fair - heavy toning throughout darkening colors |
| Condition | IHL Cat. #2318: excellent - minor marks and soiling IHL Cat. #2413.20: poor - heavy toning; red staining lower left margin; right margin edge folds and small tears |
| Genre | shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | horizontal oban |
| H x W Paper | IHL Cat. #2318: 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm) IHL Cat. #2413.20: 10 1/8 x 15 1/4 in. (25.7 x 38.7 cm) |
| H x W Image | IHL Cat. #2318: 8 1/2 x 11 9/16 in. (21.6 x 29.4 cm) IHL Cat. #2413.20: 8 1/2 x 11 9/16 in. (21.6 x 29.4 cm) |
| Literature | Nakazawa Hiromitsu kenkyū: Hon karano kenshō, Hiromitsu Nakazawa, Mitsunobu Satō, et. al., Mitsui Kōkei, Tokyo, 2006, p. 46-48. |
| 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:
1/25/2021
7/6/2020 created
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