Sumiyoshi meishō zue 住吉名勝図会

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Commentary by Kaguraoka Yōko　

Posted December 3, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

In 1780 (An’ei 9), Akisato Ritō published Miyako meisho zue 都名所図会, a pioneering work illustrating “pictures of famous places” (meisho zue). The positive response to this publication led to the release of other meisho zue such asShūi miyako meisho zue 拾遺都名所図会 ([Supplement] Pictures of famous places in the capital [Kyoto]) and Edo meisho zue 江戸名所図会 (Pictures of famous places of Edo). Sumiyoshi meishō zue (Pictures of famous places at Sumiyoshi) also belongs to this tradition. Although the name of the author is not recorded, it is thought to be by Ritō.

The artist of this work, Okada Gyokuzan, designed a large number of illustrated books (ehon) and designs for other types of books with pictures. The text states that its purpose is to inform people of other regions about the history and the annual events observed at the Sumiyoshi Taisha (Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine). The carefully written, detailed articles, together with the images that illustrate them, help to convey the weight of this history. In addition to its treatment of the Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, the book also discusses other related temples and shrines, famous locales in its environs, and locations where waka and haiku poetry connected to Sumiyoshi were composed. Some of the landscapes and scenes show current appearances and circumstances, while others represent the past. The text explains that there are some imagined scenes based on ancient poems, thus visualizing the worldview of the Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine from a variety of different entry points. Seen against the background of the expanding travel culture in Japan at this time, this text likewise served as a travel guide to famous places. However, the inclusion of waka, haiku, and other classical and ancient texts further provides the reader with a sense of history, thus transforming actual landscapes into scenes with greater interest.

The colophon lists a publication date of 1794 (Kansei 6), but the preface states that it was published a year later in 1795 (Kansei 7). Although the publishers differ, the colophon with the publication information dated to 1794 is the same. Records of the publisher’s guild state that there was some sort of dispute surrounding this publication, and the above discrepancies are believed to be a result of this. [1]

書名住吉名勝図会

執筆者神楽岡幼子

秋里籬島は安永９年（1780）に「名所図会」の嚆矢となる『都名所図会』を刊行したが、これが好評を得たことから、後、『拾遺都名所図会』（天明７年1787）、『江戸名所図会』（天保５年1834～天保７年1836）等、種々の「名所図会」が刊行されることになった。その流れに位置するのが本書である。作者名は記されないが、籬島の作と考えられている。絵師は絵本や絵入本の挿絵を多く手がける岡田玉山。住吉大社の由緒来歴や年中行事を記し、他国の人にもそれを知らしめることを目的とすると謳うが、詳細に記された記事が細かに写された風景とともに住吉の歴史の重みを伝えてくれる。住吉大社に加え、住吉大社にちなみのある寺社やその周辺の名所旧跡、住吉に因む和歌や発句が詠まれたところなども取り上げられている。描かれた風景は同時代の様子を描くこともあれば、過去の様子を描くこともあり、また、古歌によって描いた想像の図もあると説明するように、住吉の世界観をさまざまな切り口から視覚化する。旅文化の広がりを背景に、名所案内の役割も果たすが、挿絵に添えられた和歌や発句、古文献に記された由緒来歴等により実風景がさらに味わい深い風景として提供される。なお、寛政６年の刊記を持つが、序跋には寛政７年とあり、また、本屋の顔触れが異なるものの、同じく寛政６年の刊記をもつ奥付がある。本屋仲間の記録に出版にまつわる何かしらのもめごとがあったことが記録されており[1]、これらの事情による混乱であると思われる。

Selected readings:

Kitagawa Hiroshi 北川央, “Explanatory Notes” (Kaisetsu 解説), in Sumiyoshi meishō zue『住吉名勝図会』, vol. 18, Hanpon chishi taikei『版本地誌大系18』(Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten, 1998).

Nagano Hitoshi 永野仁, ed., Kinki no maki I『近畿の巻I』, vol. 11 (1981), Nihon meisho fūzoku zue 『日本名所風俗図会』, ed. Ikeda Yasaburō 池田弥三郎, Noma Kōshin 野間光辰, and Minakami Tsutomu 水上勉, 19 vols. (Tokyo: Kadokawa, 1979–1988).

(Tokyo: Kadokawa, 1979–1988).

Copies in other collections:

Kanazawa University, Ishikawa Prefecture

Kansai University, Osaka

Keiō University, Tokyo

Musées royaux des art et d’histoire, Brussels

Musée des arts et metiers, Paris

National Diet Library, Tokyo

Ryūkoku University, Kyoto

Seikadō Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo

Tōhoku University, Sendai

Tokyo National Museum

Waseda University

[1] Kitagawa 1998.