Tsukimine-dera (Geppoji) konryu shugyo engi (History of the Founding of the Geppoji Temple
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
1495 -
Geography
Japan -
Material
Ink, color, and gold on paper -
Dimension
H x W (overall): 34.3 x 1044 cm (13 1/2 x 411 in) -
Accession Number
F1961.23 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1961.23
Object Details
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Artist
Tosa Mitsunobu (1434-1525) -
Calligrapher
Kinnatsu Fujiwara (born 1463) -
School/Tradition
Tosa -
Provenance
Possibly 1495-at least 1916Tsukiminedera Temple, Settsu, Japan [1]About 1916-1957Location of object is unknown, but likely still in Japan?-by at least 1958Yamanaka and Co., New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]From 1961The Freer Gallery, purchased from Yamanaka and Co., New York [3]Notes:[1] See Junko Imanishi, “Geppo-ji Engi Scrolls in the Freer Gallery of Art” [MA thesis] (Columbia University, 1981), p. 2. Imanishi notes that the location of the scrolls, according to the Dainihon Jiin Soran (General Index of Temples) published in 1916, as being “In the list of treasures of the temple included in this index, there is an entry of scrolls of the ‘History of the Monastery with Seven Buildings in Color by Fujiwara Kinnatsu.’” On page 25 the author further explains that in 1702 a priest named Shiban quoted the chief priest of Geppo-ji in the “Honcho-Koso-den (“The Biographies of Prominent Priests in Japan”)” “It was in the old days. There is neither monument nor record of the temple.” Imanishi believes that this points to the scrolls as having been removed from the temple around the time of its 1545 destruction by Hatano Yobe-no-jo, and likely returned to the rebuilt temple at its new site, between 1702 and 1794. In footnote 72, Imanishi explains that a letter she received from the [then] chief priest of Geppo-ji explained that the temple was in ruins for approximately one hundred years, mainly during the Meiji Era (1867-1911), and “that there exists no early record in the temple.” Additionally, Imanishi refers to Muneshige Narazaki’s “Tsukimine-dera Konryu Shugyo Engi” in “Kokka” [journal] #783 (June 1957): pp. 177-182, writing that the scrolls were introduced by Narazaki in the 1957 article, “just before they were brought to the United States.”[2] See Freer Gallery of Art vault card V171.58, copy in object file, showing that the object was left at the Freer by “Mr. K. Takahashi, Yamanaka & Co.,” on December 18, 1958.[3] See object file for copy of Yamanaka and Co. invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated September 14, 1961, and marked approved by the Secretary on June 4, 1959.Research updated April 11, 2023 -
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection -
Exhibition History
Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)Telling Tales in Japanese Art (November 23, 1996 to August 14, 1997) -
Previous custodian or owner
Tsukiminedera Temple 月峰寺Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) -
Origin
Japan -
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment -
Type
Painting -
Restrictions and Rights
Usage Conditions Apply
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