Harima-no-kuni Teue-no-Matsu (“Hand-planted Pine Tree in Harima Province”)

Kosoku-ji Temple is located in Okubo-cho, Akashi City. This temple was included among the six major Honganji-sect temples in Harima Province. In 1578, campaigning against Bessho Nagaharu, who was occupying Miki-jo Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi deployed his military forces at this temple with Ikeda Terumasa in charge of defense, thereby cutting off supplies provided by the Mori clan to Miki-jo Castle. After Miki-jo Castle finally fell, after two years, Hideyoshi donated a piece of land to the temple, which is currently part of its grounds. It is said that Hideyoshi visited the temple and personally planted what is now a huge pine tree still standing in the precincts of the temple.

Kii-no-kuni Wakanoura (“Wakanoura in Kii Province”)

Wakanoura is a coastal area near Tamatsushima in the southwestern part of Wakayama City. The Man’yoshu, the oldest existing collection of waka poems compiled in the eighth century, includes a poem by Yamabe no Akahito: “As the tide rises at Wakanoura and washes the beach, cranes leave for a reed-grown shore, their calls echoing.” The lyrical scenery of the beach, which changes its appearance from moment to moment according to the tidal level, has fascinated many poets since ancient times. This painting depicts Imoseyama, an islet in an estuary at Wakanoura, as well as the two-story pagoda at Kaizen-in Temple and the Kankai-kaku pavilion, both of which were built by Tokugawa Yorinobu, the first lord of the Wakayama Domain in Kii Province.

Tamba-no-kuni Kiyomizu-dera (“Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Tamba Province”)

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, depicted in this painting, previously existed in present-day Gogano, Sannan-cho, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture. Located halfway up Mt. Iwaya (718 m) to the north of the village, the temple was as influential as Iwaya-san Sekigan-ji Temple on the same mountain, so it was also called the “Iwaya-san of the west.” However, Kiyomizu-dera Temple was later moved to its current location at the foot of the mountain, with only a few milestones and steep stone steps left behind around its former location revealing what an ancient site of mountain ascetic practices looked like in those times. The temple had a Bato Kannon (Hayagriva) Hall and other Buddhist halls and was commonly called “Rokusho Daigongen (Six Halls for Great Divine Incarnations).”

Mikawa-no-kuni Horaiji-san (“Mt. Horaiji in Mikawa Province”)

Mt. Horaiji, located upstream on the Toyo River in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, is 695 m high, and entirely covered with cedar and oak forests. It is famous as a habitat for oriental scops owls, which are known for their calls that sound like “bupposo” (a Buddhist priest). This painting is composed skillfully, depicting Mt. Horaiji between hazy mountains in the background and a village with farming fields in the foreground, as well as various forms of raised footpaths between the fields. The mountains are colored light brown and the fields pale indigo, well representing the lyricism of a tinted landscape.

Shimotsuke-no-kuni Nikko (“Nikko in Shimotsuke Province”)

Nikko is an area (currently a city) in the western part of Tochigi Prefecture, blessed with beautiful forests on Mt. Shirane, Mt. Nantai, Mt. Hiuchi, Mt. Nasu, etc. It was the terminus of the Nikko Kaido (officially Nikko Dochu), one of the five main roads of Edo-period Japan. As an important route to Nikko, home to the Tosho-gu Shrine, the road was lined with cedar trees on both sides, just as depicted in this painting. The painting highlights a contrast between the foreground and background mountains in an interesting way: emphasizing the difference in height, in the number of trees, etc.

Yamashiro-no-kuni Kamo (“Kamo in Yamashiro Province”)

Kamo-jinja Shrine is the collective name of two shrines: Kamigamo-jinja Shrine in Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture and Shimogamo-jinja Shrine in the Tadasu-no-Mori forest, Shimogamo Izumigawa-cho, Sakyo-ku of the same city. Kamo-jinja Shrine has long hosted various annual events, including the Aoi Festival in April, Kurabe-uma (horse races) in May, and the Nagoshi-no-Harae (Summer Exorcism Ceremony). When the imperial capital was relocated to Kyoto, Kamo-jinja Shrine was designated as the local guardian shrine of the imperial palace. Second only to Ise-jingu Shrine, Kamo-jinja Shrine was greatly revered as the primary shrine of Yamashiro Province. This painting features compact composition with a torii gate in the center and shrine buildings depicted concisely.

Aki-no-kuni Miyajima (“Miyajima Island in Aki Province”)

Miyajima is an island in the west of Hiroshima Bay in the northwestern Seto Inland Sea. It is home to Itsukushima-jinja Shrine, which was the primary shrine of Aki Province, dedicated to Ichikishimahime-no-Mikoto, a female deity identified with Benzaiten. At high tide, seawater fills the bay and covers the base of the shrine buildings, while at low tide the torii gate with its four pillars standing in the bay can be reached on foot. The shrine is famous for its uniquely structured buildings and the Heike Nokyo, a collection of hand-copied sutras offered by the Taira (Heike) clan, listed as a National Treasure. Taira no Kiyomori was a particularly passionate devotee of the shrine and designated it as the guardian shrine of the Taira clan.

Sanuki-no-kuni Dannoura (“Dannoura in Sanuki Province”)

Dannoura was an inlet along Yashima, currently a peninsula projecting out into Seto Inland Sea on the central-northern coast of Kagawa Prefecture. Yashima was originally an island, but erosion has left only its flat top as a geological feature. It is famous for Dannoura off its eastern coast, the historic site of a battle between the Minamoto and Taira clans in 1185. Unlike many other paintings emphasizing the flat top of the island, this painting is a rare example of a depiction of a side view of Yashima, and noteworthily, from the sea’s surface.

Hitachi-no-kuni Tsukuba-san (“Mt. Tsukuba in Hitachi Province”)

Mt. Tsukuba is an 877 m mountain straddling the three former districts of Tsukuba, Niihari, and Makabe in Ibaraki Prefecture. It has two peaks, Mt. Nyotai and Mt. Nantai, on each of which Tsukubasan-jinja Shrine has its main buildings. The term “Tsukuba-narai” refers to winds blowing from the direction of Mt. Tsukuba, which, to the residents of Edo (currently Tokyo), meant northeasterly winds. This painting features an interesting depiction of the highest mountain in the center and lower foot-hills. Houses, as well as trees standing here and there, are elaborately arranged to complement the depiction of Mt. Tsukuba.