100 Views of Edo # 66 by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: Spiral Hall, Five Hundred Rakan Temple (Gohyaku Rakan Sazaidô), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: August 1857

Size: Vertical oban; 33.5 x 22 cm (13 3/16 x 8 2/3 in.)

Date of this edition: August 1857

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Mild toning and color fading. Good overall condition.

More about this print: Description The balcony depicted here, some thirty feet above the ground in a flat expanse of the delta area of eastern Edo, was famous for its panoramic view. The vista was the finishing touch to an unusual journey that visitors took through the building: a three-story passage through three separate pilgrimage circuits, each a replication of a famous Buddhist pilgrimage in Japan.

Called Sansōdō, or Three-Circuit Hall, the structure was popularly known as Sazaedō or Spiral Hall, after a shellfish with a spiral shell. The hall was part of the complex known as the Five Hundred Rakan Temple. Two buildings containing more than five hundred images of rakan, or disciples of the Buddha, flanked the main hall of the temple, out of sight to the right. More Details

Pictures: Pictures are taken outdoor, in the shade, to reflect true colors, without any enhancements of any kind. The last picture is taken indoor, with a light behind the print, to reveal the exact paper grain, holes if any, or other possible flaws.