THE FESTIVAL OF FORTY-SIX THOUSAND DAYS (Utagawa Hiroshige III)

N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print
Year: 1875 ca.
Condition: good
Size: 25 x 36,5 cm

SOLD

Description

An Edo period (江戸時代) legend holds that paying one’s respects at a temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon (観音) on the day of Shiman-rokusen-nichi (四万六千日) will count for the same as 46,000 such visits on any other day of the year. From this belief derives the fact that, on July 10 of each year, the worshippers went to the Kinryuzan Sensoji Temple (金龍山浅草寺), in Asakusa (浅草), where they could also enjoy the contextual Hozuki market (ほおずき市) which was carried out within the temple complex… a tradition that continues today.

This beautiful polychrome woodblock print of vertical large oban (大判) format was made by the artist Utagawa Hiroshige III (三代目歌川広重) and is titled “Crowds of Worshippers at the Kinryuzan Sensoji Temple on the Day of 46,000 Blessings” (金龍山浅草寺四万六千日群集). The work, produced around 1875 by the publisher Ebisuya Shoshichi (恵比寿屋庄七), owner of Kinshodo (錦昇堂), and by the carver Ota Hidekatsu (太田秀勝), is taken from the series “Illustrations of Famous Places in Modern Tokyo” (東京開華名所図絵之内).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the presence of slight wrinkles and fold marks, is in overall good condition.