Description
Rare triptych of woodblock prints made in 1889 by the artist Adachi Ginko (安達吟光) and depicting a small procession of court ladies led by the empress consort Shoken (昭憲皇后), visible in the middle of the first row while being welcomed by a Shinto priest on the threshold of the portal Yomeimon (陽明門), one of the most striking elements of the temple complex Nikko Toshogu (日光東照宮). Particular is the presence in the scene of two umbrellas of evident western manufacture, an unequivocal sign of the changes taking place in Japan during the Meiji Period (明治時代).
With its structure enlivened by 400 polychrome and golden sculptures of the Kano school (狩野派) depicting giraffes, lions, dragons, birds, flowers and phoenixes, children, wise old men and immortal creatures, the “gate of the sun” Yomeimon is so fascinating that it has also been renamed Higurashi no Mon (日暮御門), the gate that can be admired from dawn to dusk without getting tired.
The precious work on Japanese washi paper (和紙), made by the publisher Akiyama Buemon (秋山武右衛門), despite the right patina of the time and some small holes on the margins is in very good general condition.
