Tokai Gábor szerk.: Fujiyama, A japán szépség Hokusai, Hiroshige fametszetein és fényképeken (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2005/4)

Dedication. Based on the ideas of Higashifushimi Jiko, High-Priest of the Imperial Shoren-in Temple

Dedication the Hungarian National Gallery is arranging an exhibition of woodblock prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige, all of which depict Mount Fuji. My Hungarian friends have asked me to write a few dedicatory sentences for the exhibition catalogue. First of all, for us Japanese, Fujisan is not only the highest peak and the most majestic natural wonder in our country. It is much more than that; it is the symbol of our land and nation. Fuji is both a real mountain and a super-real apparition. It is real for it has existed from time immemorial: millions and millions have made pilgrimages to its feet to see it, to admire it, and bow their heads in veneration of it; almost each blessed day of the year, countless pilgrims climb up its rocky paths and steep slopes to reach its top above the clouds. The ascent is a trial, a keen struggle, an experience never to be forgotten. However real its storm-beaten rocks and passable paths are, Fujisan is sacred ground: its beauty and spirit are beyond any reality. It is no coincidence that, from the very beginnings of Japanese history and culture, innumerable poems, drawings, paintings, legends and myths have been conceived on the sublimity and spiritual emanation of Mount Fuji. According to folk belief, if one dreams of Fuji in the first night of the New Year, he will attain such an extraordinary condition of grace that he will be happy and lucky throughout the year. Upon first seeing Fuji, the famous ancient poet Yamabeno Akahito wrote in his heartstopping astonishment: "Ever since the heavens and the earth have been cut asunder, no man can deny the divine origin of Fuji. When I looked up at it, its other-worldly whiteness, its divine effulgence eclipsed even the Sun before my eyes." The cult of Fujisan was significantly enriched by the renowned woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige. These justly world-famous works of art belong to the most valuable products of Japanese art. Our ancestors deified Fuji. We have inherited this tradition, and we shall pass it on to our descendants. We Japanese can see Fujisan even when we have our eyes closed. With its sublime shape, radiating beauty and divine essence, it is part of our lives, it abides in our spirits. It helps us remain faithful to our Japanese homeland from generation to generation, from the beginning of our history to its end. Based on the ideas of Higashifushimi Jiko, High-Priest of the Imperial Shoren-in Temple