Appendix 11 (temples 31, 32 and 33) from the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

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Japanese Letterpress Print

Appendix 11 (temples 31, 32 and 33)

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. #2413.57 (1925)

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

IHL Cat. #2328 (1946)

About This Print

The original 1925 edition and re-printed 1946 edition print of the last 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 and sangō 山号*) are:
Ōmi no kuni Konki-san [Ikiya-san**] Chōme-ji 近江國金龜山 [姨綺耶山] 長命寺 (temple 31, 三十一)

** Ikiya-san 姨綺耶山, rather than Konki-san 金龜山, is the sangō associated with Chome-ji.

Ōmi no kuni Kinugasa-yama Kannonsho-ji 近江國繖山観音正寺 (temple 32, 三十二)

Mino no kuni Tanigumi-zan Kegon-ji 美濃國谷汲山華厳寺 (temple 33, 三十三).

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 Number Goeika 御詠歌
Chōmei-ji 長命寺, temple 31 May you live for 8,000 years
Oh will of Chomeiji
Temple of long life-
Let us carry you in our hearts
As we go on our journey. 八千年や柳に長き命寺運ぶ歩みのかざしなるらん
Kannonshō-ji 観音正寺, temple 32 Oh, precious One
Please guide us
Here at Kannon temple-
We have come so far
On our journey あなとうと導きたまえ観音寺遠き国より運ぶ歩みを
Kegon-ji 華厳寺, temple 33 Vows made here
For all times all worlds
At Tanigumi
Where the waters flow
From the moss

Because it is a sign
Of the Buddha
Who lights up the whole world,
The flame here

Has never gone out
The pilgrim cloaks
Relied upon until today
As a child relies on a parent -
We now take off and leave here
As offerings, at Tanigumi in Mino 世を照らす仏のしるしありければまだともしびも消えぬなりけり (現在)

万世の願いをここに納めおく水は苔より出る谷汲 (過去)

今までは親と頼みし笈摺を脱ぎて納むる美濃の谷汲 (未来)

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.

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
#2328, ##2413.57
Title or Description Appendix 11 (temples 31, 32 and 33)
附録一一

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. #2413.57:  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. #2328: 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. #2413.57: excellent
IHL Cat. #2328: excellent
Colors   IHL Cat. #2413.57: excellent
IHL Cat. #2328: excellent
Condition IHL Cat. #2413.57: fair - foxing and discoloration; diagonal fold bottom right; tattered right margin edge
IHL Cat. #2328: excellent - light vertical fold
Genre shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour)
Miscellaneous
Format horizontal oban
H x W Paper
IHL Cat. #2413.57: 10 1/16 x 15 3/16 in. (25.6 x 38.6 cm)
IHL Cat #2328: 9 5/8 x 13 7/8 in. (24.4 x 35.2 cm)
H x W Image
IHL Cat. #2413.57:  8 9/16 x 11 1/2 in. (21.7 x 29.2 cm) (area within red border)
IHL Cat. #2328: 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:

12/23/2020

7/11/2020 created