Terashima Hosenji Temple mode (Pilgrimage to Hosenji Temple)

A surimono print from between 1780 and 1790. Surimono prints are woodblock prints that were commissioned for the private use of artists to distribute as gifts to comical tanka artists and other such acquaintances, and because they were not for sale, many of these prints feature a level of exaggerated gorgeousness that would not have been profitable under normal circumstances. This print was created by Katsushika Hokusai under the name of Iitsu when he was between 60 and 70 years old, and it portrays the many people who visit the Housenji Temple in Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku, to pray. On the right-hand column to the right of the gate is written NittaYoshisada-Guardian-Acala-Hosenji. This is the only woodblock print related to the Hosen Temple in the Edo Period currently in existence, and no other ones have been confirmed outside of the Peter Morse collection that is stored in the Sumida-ku archives. It has been designated as a Sumida-ku Tangible Cultural Asset.