The Origins of the Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa

Catalog note / 解説

This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige illustrates a Japanese legend. It concerns some fishermen who caught a miniature statue of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, in their net. Here she is identified by the rays of a halo emanating from the waters of the Sumida River. The village headman recognised the divinity of the statue and rebuilt his house as a temple dedicated to it. He thereby established what later became the Asakusa Kannon or Kinryuzan Sensoji Temple in Edo (modern Tokyo). This event allegedly took place in 628, the last year of the reign of Empress Suiko. Materials: Colour print from woodblocks