Description
Meoto Iwa (夫婦岩), the “husband and wife rocks”, are a couple of small rocky stacks in the sea off Futami (二見) in the Mie Prefecture (三重県). For the Shinto religion they are sacred and represent the union of the two creator deities of Japan, Izanagi (伊弉諾) and Izanami (伊弉冉), and consequently all the unions between man and woman. The rocks are joined by a sacred rope shimenawa (注連縄). In summer, the sun appears to rise between them and, on clear days, Mount Fuji (富士山) is visible on the horizon.
The rare woodblock print presented here is titled “Futami, view of Meoto Iwa” (二見女夫岩光景) and was made around 1870 by the artist Hasegawa Sadanobu II (二代目長谷川貞信), better known under the pseudonym Hasegawa Konobu (長谷川小信), in collaboration with the publisher Tanaka Yasujiro (田中安治郎) of Osaka.
The work, despite a proper patina of the time, is in very good general condition.
