Hanamaru-zu

Kotohira


From ancient times, Konpira Shrine has been a center of worship of the deity who watches over sea travelers. Near the shrine is a picturesque hot spring district, with numerous lodging facilities where one can enjoy the beneficial waters.







The Kotohira Shrine Lecture Hall


The Lecture Hall, made up of inner and outer halls, is an Important Cultural Property built more than 300 years ago. Five of the seven rooms in the outer hall contain a total of 90 murals painted on sliding doors by Maruyama Okyo. The inner hall contains other artwork of the highest quality, including Ito Jakuchu’s “Hanamaru-zu,” (Flower Circles). In autumn 2007, a new teahouse, Kamitsubaki, was completed. This is just one element in the ongoing plans for a cultural zone, prompted by the first Daisenza festival of the Heisei Period.

Restoration lets masterpiece blossom

BY HIROYUKI YAMAMOTO

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2009/8/26

Restoration lets masterpiece blossom(HIROYUKI YAMAMOTO/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)

Restorers apply finishing touches Tuesday to a mural by artist Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) at Kotohiragu shrine in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture, after a year-long restoration project. "Hanamaru-zu" (Picture of flowers), created in 1764, graces the sliding doors and walls of an inner room of the shrine. It is one of the shrine's two greatest art treasures from the Edo Period (1603-1867). The other is by Maruyama Okyo. Jakuchu's work depicts 201 kinds of flowers in intricate detail.(IHT/Asahi: August 26,2009)