Appendix 3 (temples 7, 8 and 9) from the Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

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Japanese Letterpress Print

Appendix 3 (temples 7, 8 and 9)

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

by unknown, 1925

Illustrated Account of the Sino-Japanese War, Volume 7

IHL Cat. #2413.49

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

About This Print

The third 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.

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

Yamato no kuni Toko-zan Oka-dera 大和國東光山岡寺 (temple 7, 七)

Yamato no kuni Bu-zan Hase-dera 大和國豊山長谷寺 (temple 8, 八)

Yamato no kuni Kōfuku-ji Nan'endō 大和國興福寺南圓堂 (temple 9, 九)

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
Oka-dera 岡寺, temple 7 In the morning when I see
The dew on the moss
In the garden of Okadera
It looks just like lapis
Shining brightly けさ見ればつゆ岡寺の庭の苔さながら瑠璃の光なりけり
Hase-dera 長谷寺, temple 8 Come again and again
With your pilgrim's heart
To Hasedera
Where the mountains and the vows
Are as deep as the river いくたびも参る心ははつせ寺山もちかいも深き谷川
Nan'endō 南圓堂, temple 9 The spring day
At Nan'endo
The radiant brilliance
From Mikasa mountain
Trailing a thin veil of clouds 春の日は南円堂にかがやきて三笠の山に晴るるうす雲

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 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
#2413.49
Title or Description
Appendix 3 (temples 7, 8 and 9)
附録三
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 good - foxing and some discoloration
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