1868 Ukiyo-e View of Inada, Kasama Municipality, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

An intriguing c. 1868 ukiyo-e view of the township of Inada in Kasama municipality, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, some 50 miles north of Tokyo. It focuses on the Sainenji Temple (西念寺), originally constructed in the 13th century.

A Closer Look

This view is oriented towards the north, looking over the village of Inada towards the Sainenji Temple, with the Inada River flowing in the foreground. Within the temple complex, various structures and sites are labeled, including the main hall (本堂) of the temple, a small structure covering a bell (鐘樓) at the right, and even a tree (天蓋木) and stone with religious significance (說法石). Outside of the temple, fields, a teahouse, and other hills and mountains are labeled. At left is Mt. Itajiki (in the title as 板敷山 but on the view written using kana イタジキ山), which also carries spiritual significance. Historically, the altar atop the mountain was a site where monks from Sainenji and other ascetics would practice Shugendō.

Inada Sainenji Temple

The Inada Sainenji Temple is an important temple in the Jōdo Shinshū school or sect of Pure Land Buddhism. It is said that Shinran (1173 - 1263), who founded the Jōdo Shinshū school, wrote the draft of his magnum opus Kyōgyōshinshō (教行信証, 'The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way') there in the year 1224. The phrase 'Windy and Snowy Valley' in the title is a reference to the name of the hermitage built for Shinran by the local feudal lord, Inada Kurō Yorishige (稲田九郎頼重). The main hall contains a stepped platform, at the top of which is a statue of the Amitabha Buddha, with the lower steps including statues of other important Buddhist figures, including Shinran.

Publication History and Census

This view is untitled and contains no stamp indicating the artist or publication information. It likely was produced in the late Edo or early Meiji period, c. 1868. We have been unable to locate any other examples of this view in institutional collections or on the market. The meaning of the stamp at the bottom-right (再建之圖) is somewhat unclear but may mean that this is a later (19th century) representation of the temple and surroundings as they appeared in an earlier time. In any event, it is likely that the view was distributed on-site at the temple itself.