Fudō Myō-ō

[Baka Gaijin]

Gentlemen and Ladies,

 

I have had the great good fortune, to obtain an early woodblock print of the Buddhist deity Fudō Myō-ō

 

It is seriously rare, and, I request assistance here, also, please be aware that the item is not for sale, so, I have no dog in the fight, so to speak, I just want to know more about the item that I have acquired, and now cherish.

 

(It is currently being sent to Japan for conservation and mounting as a Kakejiku scroll, as it was originally intended.

 

This came from from an important English Estate, and, along with Armour, Swords and Kodogu, was acquired by an Important published English Diplomat, in Japan in the 1870's.

 

There is an annotation to the card support - verso, by the previous family owner which states:

 

"14th/15th Century ō-sugata or ō kage woodblock print - August Shade.

 

However, it is the very early stages of my research into it, so I will conservatively refer to it as early Edo era 1600 - 1868 for the time being.

 

The exciting part is that it was printed at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, which I know very well, and would have been sold to visiting faithful, to benefit the temple, much in the same way Omamori are sold today.

 

Apparently these Talismanic prints were called ō-sugata or ō kage - August Shade.

 

I've not come across those terms before, so it's all a great voyage of discovery.

 

I think, on reflection, that August, does not refer to the month (for obvious reasons), but to the August or elevated nature of the subject matter, using the sensibilities of the late Victorian era.

 

 

 

Thank you in advance for you kind cooperation.

 

 

[Stephen]

Does this read Fudo?

 

[Guest]

Good afternoon Stephen,

 

Pleasure to connect with you, I reckon so.

 

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/fudo.html

 

Hows the forge project going?

 

Looking forward to seeing great things soon.

 

Although, I technically do not have the right, Semper Fi, my dear dear friend.

 

[Stephen]

My dear Malcolm

 

I wish i could say it was going. Back and leg pain has me grounded. Then hype copid 19 has pretty much everything at a stand still. Perfect time to make heat in garage except i cant bend over. Xrays Wed and hopefully shots. Thanks for asking.

 

Cheers

Stephen

[Viper6924]

Dear Malcolm!

Congrats to a very fine and rare scroll depicting Fudo Myoo. Being my personal guardian diety, Fudo Myoo holds a special place in my heart. As a result, I have gathered a small collection of intersting Fudo Myoo artifacts.

Amongst them are two so called Ash-Buddha’s (not sure about the correct term in Japanese). These small tablets are made from the ash originating from the Goma fire-ritual, which is an important part of the Shingon sect of Esoteric Buddhism.

They have a connection to your scroll as both were manufactured at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.

Good luck with your research!

 

Jan

[Ken-Hawaii]

Good luck with the x-rays & shots tomorrow, Stephen. Wear a mask!