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Appendix 4 (temples 10, 11 and 12) from the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874-1964)

Japanese Letterpress Print

Appendix 4 (temples 10, 11 and 12)

from the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

by unknown, 1925 and 1946

Illustrated Account of the Sino-Japanese War, Volume 7


IHL Cat. #2413.50 (1925)
(from the complete album of prints IHL Cat. #2413)

IHL Cat. #2324

About This Print

The original 1925 edition and re-printed 1946 edition print of the fourth of eleven appendices in the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces portfolio, each providing information on three of the thirty-three temples that make up the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Each appendix sheet provides a sketch of each temple's honzon 本尊(enshrined principle image), its goeika 御詠歌 (a song/prayer recited by some pilgrims) and a haikai (comic linked verse) composed by the haiku poet Ishikura Suiyō 石倉翠葉 (1875-1938) who, along with the artist Akatsuka Chūichi 赤塚忠一 (1887-?), accompanied Nakazawa on his seventy-eight day pilgrimage to the thirty-three temples and surrounding sights beginning on December 11, 1923. The creator of the honzon sketches is unknown.

The three temples on this sheet (including their locales, using the old province names, and sangō 山号*) are:

Yamashiro no kuni Myōjō-zan Mimuroto-ji 山城國 明星山 三室戸寺 (temple 10, 十)

Yamashiro no kuni Miyuki-yama Daigo-ji 山城國 深雪山 醍醐寺 (temple 11, 十一)

Ōmi no kuni Iwama-yama Shōbō-ji (Iwama-dera) 近江國 岩間山 正法寺 (temple 12, 十二).

Each temple name in the below table is linked to its corresponding print.

* the name of a Buddhist temple's sacred mountain prefixed to the name of the temple. They are used both in the portfolio's table of contents and on each addendum sheet.

 Temple Name and NumberGoeika  御詠歌
 Mimuroto-ji 三室戸寺, temple 10All night long
As the moon shines down
On Mimuroto,
Along the rapids of Uji River
White waves are rising.
夜もすがら 月を三室戸 わけゆけば 宇治の川瀬に 立つは白波
 Daigō-ji 醍醐寺, temple 11Even with a heavy karma
Your suffering may be relieved
If you offer prayers 
At the Junteido
There is hope
逆縁も もらさで救う 願なれば 准胝堂は たのもしきかな
 Shōbō-ji 正法寺 (Iwama-dera), temple 12The source of this spring
Where does it begin?
At Iwamadera
The waves crash upon the shore
In the sound of wind in the pines
みなかみは いづくなるらん いわまでら きしうつなみは まつかぜのおと
Note: All goeika English translations taken from A Pilgrimage in Japan: The 33 Temples of Kannon, Joan D. Stamm, Mantra Books, 2018. Goeika in Japanese taken from the website of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage Association https://www.saikoku33.gr.jp/

Comparison of Appendix Sheets - The Original 1925 Release and the 1946 Second Edition

As shown below, the original 1925 release is printed in red ink on the same paper used for the prints themselves. The 1946 release is printed in black ink on a thin translucent sheet of paper.

A 1925 (left) and 1946 (right): Appendix 2 (temples 4, 5 and 6)

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.

Nakazawa Hiromitsu - Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces
click on the image to go to the article

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.


Print Details

 IHL Catalog
 #2324, #2413.50
 Title or Description Appendix 4 (temples 10, 11 and 12)
 附録 

note: the title shown left appears only on the 1925 edition
 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 unknown - sketches of honzon not credited.  Principle artist for portfolio is Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874-1964). Haikai by Ishikura Suiyō 石倉翠葉 (1875-1938).
 Signature
 not signed
 Seal of the artist not sealed
 Publication Date IHL Cat. #2413.50: September 28, 1925 大正十四年九月十八日発行 [publishing date as given on the colophon for the 1925 album]
 IHL Cat. #2324: 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

Below publisher's seal reading 文淵堂版 Bun'endō han appears in the right margin only on 1925 edition.

 Carver not applicable
 Printer 1925 release: 松本兄弟堂, a company founded in Osaka by Matsumoto Kisaburō 松本喜三郎 in 1923
 1946 release: unknown
 Impression IHL Cat. #2413.50: excellent 
 IHL Cat. #2324: good - loss of some detail in honzon sketches
 Colors IHL Cat. #2413.50: excellent 
 IHL Cat #2324: excellent
 Condition IHL Cat. #2413.50: good - foxing and discoloration 
IHL Cat. #2324: excellent
 Genre shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour)
 Miscellaneous
 Format horizontal oban
 H x W Paper 
 IHL Cat. #2413.50: 10 1/16 x 15 3/16 in. (25.6 x 38.6 cm)
 IHL Cat. #2324: 9 5/8 x 13 7/8 in. (24.4 x 35.2 cm) 
 H x W Image
 IHL Cat. #2413.50: 8 9/16 x 11 1/2 in. (21.7 x 29.2 cm) (area within red border)
 IHL Cat. #2324: 8 9/16 x 11 7/16 in. (21.7 x 29.1 cm) (area within black border)
 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; 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)

last revision:
12/22/2020
7/10/2020 created