Artist: Totoya Hokkei Production date: 1830-1844 (early Tempou era) No publisher’s seal A man is looking at a view through his telescope from Enoshima Island. The Edo period record indicates that viewing scenery through telescope was a very popular custom during Edo period. As a typical surimono work, the lines of wave crash, surface texture of rocks and the kimono pattern of a man on the right are luxuriously decorated with gindei (a pigment that contains silver). “Chronicle of a Journey to Enoshima” is a series of surimono that illustrated landscapes and products related to Enoshima Island. Surimono is high quality woodblock prints that include both kyouka poems (Comic verse composed of 31 syllables) and illustrations related to the poems. Since surimono was produced not for sale but made privately by the group of kyouka poets, the artists who produced the illustrations fully expressed their supreme talents and skills such as detailed curving techniques and high skill of the printing technique in a small format. The indications in the several works specify that there were originally 16 works in this series. However, only 14 works, “Takanawa, the starting point”, “Samezu”, “Omori”, “Kamata”, “Rokugou”, “Tsurumi”, “Kanagawa”, “Hamagawa”, “Shimo-no-miya”, “Kami-no-miya”, “Hongu”, “Chigo-ga-buchi”, “Manaita-iwa”, and “Ryudou” are currently discovered. This series was produced for the memory of kyouka poetry circle’s journey to Enoshia Island. The illustrations were produced by Totoya Hokkei and he was a pupil of Katsushika Hokusai. Hokkei was known for his premier talent with surimono, especially related to kyouka, and it is said his skill even surpassed that of Hokusai.

Artist: Totoya Hokkei Production date: 1830-1844 (early Tempou era) No publisher’s seal In this scene, land is expressed not through the depiction of famous landscape of Manaita-iwa, or the rock looks like a cutting board, but instead, the land is expressed with the local specialty of Enoshima Island: The abalone and the abalone kasuzuke (the pickles with sake lees seasoning) in a wooden circular box. Between the local products, a Japanese smoking pipe (kiseru) and a red steel to light a fire are illustrated. Detail parts are carefully decorated: The smoking pipe’s metal shank is decorated effectively with a silver pigment and the lines of small sea shells stick to an abalone are expressed with the emboss effect. “Chronicle of a Journey to Enoshima” is a series of surimono that illustrated landscapes and products related to Enoshima Island. Surimono is high quality woodblock prints that include both kyouka poems (Comic verse composed of 31 syllables) and illustrations related to the poems. Since surimono was produced not for sale but made privately by the group of kyouka poets, the artists who produced the illustrations fully expressed their supreme talents and skills such as detailed curving techniques and high skill of the printing technique in a small format. The indications in the several works specify that there were originally 16 works in this series. However, only 14 works, “Takanawa, the starting point”, “Samezu”, “Omori”, “Kamata”, “Rokugou”, “Tsurumi”, “Kanagawa”, “Hamagawa”, “Shimo-no-miya”, “Kami-no-miya”, “Hongu”, “Chigo-ga-buchi”, “Manaita-iwa”, and “Ryudou” are currently discovered. This series was produced for the memory of kyouka poetry circle’s journey to Enoshia Island. The illustrations were produced by Totoya Hokkei and he was a pupil of Katsushika Hokusai. Hokkei was known for his premier talent with surimono, especially related to kyouka, and it is said his skill even surpassed that of Hokusai.

Utagawa Kunisada c.1830-1843 (c.Tempou era) There are varieties of histories and legends of Enoshima Island, and the legend that described the origin of Houjou family’s emblem, mitsu-uroko (three-scales) is one of them. Houjou Tokimasa was the first official who was given the rank of shikken (The supreme rank of the government official who supported the Shogun of Kamakura period and manage the political affairs.), and his daughter was the wife of the first Shogun Minamoto-no Yoritomo. Tokimasa prayed at the sea cave of Enoshima Island for several days wishing the prosperity of the descendants. At the night of the very end of his prayer’s training, Benzaiten appeared in front of Tokimasa, and promised to grant his wish. Then Benzaiten changed into a big Snake Ryuja-shin and disappeared into the ocean. The only three scales were left behind. Then, Tokimasa made the three scales into a Houjou family’s emblem as it will became the symbol to invite the prosperity of the family.

Kitao Masayoshi 1781-89 This picture illustrates the beach seining that took place at the Yui-ga-hama Beach. In the distance, the Enoshima Island is illustrated and the Mt. Fuji is illustrated way back from the Enoshima. With the exaggerated style, the octopus, bream and ray caught in the net, much bigger than the usual sizes are humorously illustrated.

Katsushika Hokusai The Production date: c.1811 (c.Bunka 8) This picture is from a series “Picture Book of Travelling along Post Stations with the Jingle of the Bell” . Bigger than the typical Hokusai’s series of the Toukaidou Highway, this work was produced in chu-ban size. In the picture, the scene of oxen and a man leading the oxen walking on a beach with the background of the Enoshima Island and Mt. Fuji is illustrated. The transportation by oxen, instead of horses was an actual custom of the Shichiri-ga-hama Beach.

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai 1801-1804 (Kyouwa era), No publisher’s seal This is a surimono, an ukiyo-e print that kyouka poets and groups of people who enjoyed haikai poetry often produced as the special providing gifts for New Year. Unlike the ukiyo-e prints sold in cheap prices, many surimono works were decorated luxuriously using gold and silver pigments. The form of the woodblock of this work is special one, elongated horizontally. At the right side, on the back of an attendant’s kimono, the word “Ogie (荻江)” is identified. From this fact, the teachers of “Ogie-bushi” (the Tunes of Ogie), a popular nagauta or traditional Japanese song of that time, are considered to be illustrated and the client of this work was also related to this activity. In the picture, the scene of people’s pilgrimage to Enoshima is illustrated since Enoshima’s deity Benzaiten was regarded as the deity of ongyoku’s or music. Katsushika Hokusai Hōreki 10~Kaei 2 (1760~1849) Hokusai was a pupil of Katsukawa Shunsho; also said to have studied under Kano Yusen, Tsutsumi Torin, and Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki. He produced of wide variety of art and media. Later in his life, he focused more on the paintings and worked beyond the framework of the established ukiyo-e. He had students such as Hokuba, Hokkei, Hokuju and Shinsai. He had a long career period started from An’ei 8 till his death (1779-1849).

Kitao Shigemasa 1781～89 Shigemasa was the founder of Kitao-school and he produced many actor prints. During the An’ei and Ten’mei era (c.1772-1789), he produced pictures of classical and elegant beauties. He produced many illustrations in the book style print hanpon but he did not produced much polychrome Ichimai-e or single sheet print, such as this work. As for landscape paintings, he produced perspective picture uki-e to draw landscape. This work is also an uki-e and in this work, he used bird’s-eye view composition as if to look down the landscape from the higher position and illustrated the parts that cannot be observed in the regular composition.

Katsushika Hokusai Production date:1789-1801 In this picture, the horizon is illustrated at the lower part and the vast sky is illustrated. Hokusai illustrated several landscape paintings using western expressions, and in this picture, the expression of figures expressed with black silhouettes was inspired by the works of western copper-plate engravings. The whitecaps of the waves are decorated with the delicate karazuri emboss effect and the frame is decorated with breaking ice pattern. At the right upper part of the picture, following the western way, he wrote “Hokusai illustrated this picture” horizontally.