Description: folio sized photo book documenting Joruri-ji Temple in Kyoto Prefecture by famed Japanese photographer Yoshio Watanabe; with text by renowned literary critic Suekichi Aono and writer Toshio Fukuyama. Published by Bijutsu Shuppan-sha, this publication is printed in high quality photogravure and exhibits rich velvety matte tones in full and double page photo spreads. Printed in 1965, this is the sixth printing of the first edition (the first printing was in 1959). Folio size with stiff cover boards and dust jacket, it contains 32 gravure pages and fourteen pages of text. It is also SIGNED by Watanabe on the colophon page.

Condition: near excellent with the corners having very minor bumping marks. The overall condition of this book is very clean.

Temple history:

Joruri-ji Temple of Kyoto was first founded in 1047 as the Nishi Odawaraji Temple. Famous for it’s nine images of the Amida Buddha housed in it’s main hall, this temple also contains a three tiered pagoda that rises above the surrounding forrest, as well as it’s Aji-ike Pond which reflects the main hall, and a classic Jodo style garden. Joruri-ji provides a very peaceful atmosphere and is a classic example of Fujiwara Culture.

Yoshio Watanabe (1907 - 2000):

Born in Sanjo. Niigata Prefecture, Watanabe was a prominent architectural photographer who specialized in photographing Ise Grand Shrine which is rebuilt every twenty years. Getting his start in the late 1920s as a photographer and editor for Photo Times magazine, Watanabe was one of Japan’s most prominent photograhers from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was also the first director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

For more information on Watanabe click here.