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Mirror of Our Country’s Revered Deities and Esteemed Emperors
Mirror of Our Country’s Revered Deities and Esteemed Emperors
Object number1991.35.96

Mirror of Our Country’s Revered Deities and Esteemed Emperors

Date1878
Artist (Japanese, 1838 - 1912)
Publisher (Japanese)
CultureJapanese
MediumWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsImage: 14 3/16 x 9 7/16 in. (36.04 x 23.97 cm)
Sheet: 14 9/16 x 9 7/16 in. (36.99 x 23.97 cm)
Credit LineGift of Justine Lewis Keidel, class of 1937
Period19th c (Meiji period)
Classification(s)
InscribedOn recto, upper right corner, black ink in yellow cartouche, printed within block: 陽神伊弉諾尊(Ogami Izanagi [no] mikoto; Honorable God Izanagi) On recto, lower right corner, black ink in yellow cartouche, printed within block: 今上皇后 (Kinjō kōgō; Reigning Empress [of Japan]) On recto, upper right off center, black ink in yellow cartouche, printed within block: 國常立尊 (Kuni [no] tokotachi [no] mikoto; Kuni-no-Tokotachi) On recto, upper left corner, black in yellow cartouche, printed within block: 陰神伊弉冊尊 (Megami Izanami [no] mikoto; Honorable Goddess Izanami) On recto, lower right corner, black ink in yellow cartouche, printed within block: 今上天皇 (Kinjyōtennō; Reigning Emperor [of Japan])
Vassar Exhibitions
Label TextDuring the Meiji period, prints related to Shintō played a key role in disseminating the idea of the emperor’s religious authority and the divine blessings he bestowed upon the nation. For example, Yōshū Chikanobu’s Mirror of Our Country’s Revered Deities and Esteemed Emperors depicts the emperor and empress surrounded by other kami (deities) and his ancestors, past emperors. The center panel of the triptych depicts a seated Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken surrounded by three primordial kami—Kunitokotachi, the deity in the center, and his children, the goddess Izanami and the god Izanagi. To the right of Izanagi is the sun goddess Ameterasu, believed to be the ancestor of all Japanese emperors. She holds the sacred mirror, one of the three regalia of the imperial family. On the same sheet, Emperor Jinmu, the first emperor, holds a staff with the legendary Yata crow that guided him in his quest to conquer Japan, while Emperor Kōmei, gazing downward and dressed in traditional clothing featuring a purple lozenge-shaped design against green, kneels to the right of Empress Shōken.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu
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