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Shrines in Old Photos and Ukiyo-e Prints
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This search only covers the photos and prints we've prepared for wallpapers.
This isn't a search of everything each library has made public.
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About this collection
We've gathered old photographs and pictures of shrines, from late Edo woodblock prints and Meiji-era albums of famous sights to photographs and shin-hanga prints of the Taisho and early Showa eras. Many of the photos are from Kyoto, and shrines from all over Japan appear, from Akita in the north to Miyazaki in the south.
The Great Torii in the Sea and a Miyajima Festival
"Festival at Itsukushima, Aki Province," a woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige published in 1853, shows a festival of boats on the sea. The great torii in the photo "The Great Torii and Lanterns" is the one that stands today, rebuilt in 1875. It is about 16.6 meters tall.
New Year at Kameido, and Under the Wisteria
The print "First Day of the Hare at Kameido Shrine" shows people visiting Kameido Tenjin Shrine on the first Day of the Hare in the New Year. Utagawa Toyokuni III drew the figures and Utagawa Hiroshige II the scenery. "Wisteria at Kameido," from 1910, shows women under a wisteria trellis, probably the shrine's own wisteria.
Tall Grass Before the Shrine
In "Ise Grand Shrine," from 1910, tall grass grows thick in front of the unpainted wooden shrine buildings. With no power mowers, all of it had to be cut by hand. Keeping such wide grounds in order must have been harder work than we can easily imagine today.
Based on the National Diet Library's catalog records and our notes on each image.Published
Old photos: 49 · Woodblock prints: 16
