The first of eleven appendices in the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces, 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.

Temple Name and Number  Principle Image (honzon)	Goeika	御詠歌
Seiganto-ji 青岸渡寺, temple 1    Nyoirin kannon 如意輪観世音菩薩	On Kannon's island paradise, Waves crash upon the shores; In the sacred land of Kumano, Down Nachi Mountain, The thundering waterfall cascades	補陀洛や 岸打つ波は 三熊野の 那智のお山に ひびく滝津瀬
Kimii-dera 金剛宝寺, temple 2  Jūichimen kannon 十一面観世音菩薩	The place of my birth Is far away from here, Kimiidera, Captial of the cherry blossoms, Feels closer than home	ふるさとを はるばるここに 紀三井寺 花の都も 近くなるらん
Kokawa-dera 粉河寺, temple 3  Senju kannon 千手千眼観世音菩薩	My father and mother's Kindness runs deeply Kokawadera Upon Kannon's vow I can depend	ちちははの 恵みも深き 粉河寺 ほとけの誓ひ たのもしの身や

1. The honzon listed for each temple taken from "Living Icons: 'Reizō' Myths of the Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage", Mark MacWilliams, appearin in Monumenta Nipponica , Spring, 2004, Vol. 59, No. 1, Sophia University, p. 35-82 https://www.jstor.org/stable/25066274 and the corresponding kanji from the website of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage Association https://www.saikoku33.gr.jp/

2. 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 Appendices - 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	#2413.47
Title or Description	Appendix 1 (temples 1, 2 and 3)  附録 一
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	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]
Publisher	文淵堂版 Bun'endō han 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	not applicable
Printer	松本兄弟堂, a company founded in Osaka by Matsumoto Kisaburō 松本喜三郎 in 1923
Impression	excellent
Colors	excellent
Condition	fair - foxing and discoloration; paper loss upper right and left margins
Genre	shin hanga; shasei kikō (sketch-tour)
Miscellaneous
Format	horizontal oban
H x W Paper	10 1/16 x 15 3/16 in. (25.6 x 38.6 cm)
H x W Image	8 9/16 x 11 1/2 in. (21.7 x 29.2 cm) (area with red 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 created