Description
Nikko Toshogu (日光東照宮) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府), the last feudal Japanese government. During the Edo period (江戸時代), the shogunate carried out processions that started from Edo to visit the temple complex. Today’s annual spring and autumn festivals of the shrine reenact these occasions, and are known as “processions of a thousand warriors” (千人武者行列).
The precious triptych of woodblock prints, made in 1897 by the artist Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延) and produced by the publisher Fukuda Hatsujiro (福田初次郎), owner of Gusokuya (具足屋), is entitled “Visit to Nikko Shrine” (日光御社参) and is taken from the series “Chiyoda Outer Palace” (千代田之御表).
The prints on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, are in very good general condition.
