1669 Montanus Antique Print Sanjūsangen-dō 三十三間堂 Buddhist Temple Kyoto, Japan

Publisher : Arnoldus Montanus

  • Title  : Temple ou il y a 1000 Idoles: Temple met Duysend Beelden
  • Date  : 1669
  • Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
  • Ref # :  23413
  • Size   : 14 1/2in x 9in (360mm x 230mm)

Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique print of Sanjūsangen-dō (三十三間堂) a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama District of Kyoto, Japan (with 1000 Kannon statues) during the Edo period, by Arnoldus Montanus was published in the 1669 edition of Gedenkwaerdige Gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maetschappy int Vereenigde Nederland, aen de Kaisaren van Japan. Getrokken uit de Geschriften en Reiseaentekeninge der zelver Gesanten (Atlas Japannensis being remarkable addresses by way of Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces, to the Emperor of Japan)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 15in x 12in (380mm x 305mm)
Plate size: - 13in x 10in (330mm x 255mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (20mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
Sanjūsangen-dō (三十三間堂, lit. thirty-three ken (length) hall) is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama District of Kyoto, Japan. Officially known as Rengeō-in (蓮華王院), or Hall of the Lotus King, Sanjūsangen-dō belongs to and is run by the Myōhō-in temple, a part of the Tendai school of Buddhism. The temple name literally means Hall with thirty three spaces between columns, describing the architecture of the long main hall of the temple.
Taira no Kiyomori completed the temple under order of Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164. The temple complex suffered a fire in 1249 and only the main hall was rebuilt in 1266. In January, the temple has an event known as the Rite of the Willow (柳枝のお加持), where worshippers are touched on the head with a sacred willow branch to cure and prevent headaches. A popular archery tournament known as the Tōshiya (通し矢) has also been held here, beside the West veranda, since the Edo period. The duel between the famous warrior Miyamoto Musashi and Yoshioka Denshichirō, leader of the Yoshioka-ryū, is popularly believed to have been fought just outside Sanjūsangen-dō in 1604.
The main deity of the temple is Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara or the Thousand Armed Kannon. The statue of the main deity was created by the Kamakura sculptor Tankei and is a National Treasure of Japan. The temple also contains one thousand life-size statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon which stand on both the right and left sides of the main statue in 10 rows and 50 columns. Of these, 124 statues are from the original temple, rescued from the fire of 1249, while the remaining 876 statues were constructed in the 13th century. The statues are made of Japanese cypress clad in gold leaf. The temple is 120 - meter long[1]. Around the 1000 Kannon statues stand 28 statues of guardian deities. There are also two famous statues of Fūjin and Raijin.

$190.00