Lot Essay
The eight views around Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, in Omi province (modern Shiga prefecture) to the northeast of Kyoto were modeled on the example of the eight views in the region of the Hsiao and Hsiang Rivers in China, a painting subject that gained popularity in Japan in the sixteenth century. Konoe Masaie and his son Naomichi are credited with composing the first poems on this theme around 1500.
Beginning from the north, the eight views are: Evening Snow on Mount Hira, Wild Geese Descending at Katada, Night Rain at Karasaki, Vesper Bell at Mii Temple, Clearing Weather at Awazu, Evening Glow at Seta, Autumn Moon at Ishiyama Temple, and Returning Sails at Yabase.
On this screen (which was probably paired with a view of Itsukushima Shrine) tourists and pilgrims are enjoying cherry blossoms and worshipping at a temple on the far right identified in its cartouche as Mii temple. (Judging by the steep ascent and the cantilevered balcony, however, this is a depiction of Ishiyama temple, at the southernmost tip of the lake. There is some confusion here). The cartouche labeled 'autumn moon at Ishiyama' appears near a full moon on the opposite side of the lake, near the torii gate of a Shinto shrine, most likely Hiyoshi Shrine on the west shore of the lake. In the second and third panels we see the long bridge at Seta, known as Karahashi, which is located at the southeastern tip of the lake, near Ishiyama temple. The bridge breaks at the middle on a small island which is populated with vendors of food and antiques. Zeze Castle is shown in the fourth panel, and the sacred pine at Karasaki in the fifth. Evening rain is suggested here by the umbrella and the torches used by fishermen pulling in their nets. The Ukimido, an open-air Buddhist pavilion built over the water at Katada, a town on the west coast, is another famous sight and popular fishing spot on the lake. Geese returning to Katada signal autumn. On the sixth panel we see Mount Hira in winter, and 'sails returning to Yabase', which is near Kusatsu on the southeast coast of Lake Biwa.
Beginning from the north, the eight views are: Evening Snow on Mount Hira, Wild Geese Descending at Katada, Night Rain at Karasaki, Vesper Bell at Mii Temple, Clearing Weather at Awazu, Evening Glow at Seta, Autumn Moon at Ishiyama Temple, and Returning Sails at Yabase.
On this screen (which was probably paired with a view of Itsukushima Shrine) tourists and pilgrims are enjoying cherry blossoms and worshipping at a temple on the far right identified in its cartouche as Mii temple. (Judging by the steep ascent and the cantilevered balcony, however, this is a depiction of Ishiyama temple, at the southernmost tip of the lake. There is some confusion here). The cartouche labeled 'autumn moon at Ishiyama' appears near a full moon on the opposite side of the lake, near the torii gate of a Shinto shrine, most likely Hiyoshi Shrine on the west shore of the lake. In the second and third panels we see the long bridge at Seta, known as Karahashi, which is located at the southeastern tip of the lake, near Ishiyama temple. The bridge breaks at the middle on a small island which is populated with vendors of food and antiques. Zeze Castle is shown in the fourth panel, and the sacred pine at Karasaki in the fifth. Evening rain is suggested here by the umbrella and the torches used by fishermen pulling in their nets. The Ukimido, an open-air Buddhist pavilion built over the water at Katada, a town on the west coast, is another famous sight and popular fishing spot on the lake. Geese returning to Katada signal autumn. On the sixth panel we see Mount Hira in winter, and 'sails returning to Yabase', which is near Kusatsu on the southeast coast of Lake Biwa.