Atago-Yama

Category

Library Item

Item no

15137

Title

Atago-Yama [stairs leading to the Atago shrine, Atago-Yama (Mount Atago), Tokyo]

Description

A torii or gateway marks the entrance to the Atago Shrine in Edo (Tokyo), Japan. Behind it are stone lanterns and steep steps ('Otoko-zaka' or Man slope) leading up the wooded hill of Mount Atago. On the right-hand side are less steep stairs ('Onna-zaka', Woman slope) and a small Western-style electric lamp.
Wooden buildings with some paper walls ('shoji') lie on either sides of the gateway. On the right is a liquor shop; the two-storey building on the left may be a hotel.
Five men are taking the pose: one is sitting against a rickshaw to the right of the gate; he is wearing a headband and is probably a 'rokushaku', a rickshaw carrier. The man sitting on the foot of the torii also wears a headband and may be his colleague. Two other men stand in the background in front of the stairs; the one on the right is wearing wooden sandals ('geta'). The fifth man is climbing the steps and wears a broad hat ('kasa').

Artist / maker

von Stillfried-Ratenicz, Franz

Date

1881

Size

19.5 x 24 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Art and Design Library

This item is part of a collection of prints from the studio of Baron Franz von Stillfried-Ratenicz, an Austrian photographer practising in Japan in the late 1870's. Von Stillfried ran a studio in Yokohama at the same time as his brother Raimund, who was also known as 'Baron Stillfried'. This caused a great deal of confusion with the local residents and visitors to Japan in the Meiji Period, and with art historians today.

This album, which dates from 1879-83, comprises 67 separate mounted prints presented in a lacquerware box. Albums of this kind were popular among foreign tourists, who frequently selected the individual prints they wished to include from the studio's collection. Many of these albumen prints were hand tinted. This was a laborious process for which von Stillfried employed, at the height of his success, a substantial number of Japanese workers. Like many of the other 'views' in this album, this photograph was not hand-painted.

Mount Atago was a popular site to enjoy the view over Edo and to observe the moon, snow falls, and the New Year sunrise. The hill was only 26 meters high but offered an impressive panorama on the flat area surrounding it.
The Shinto shrine at the top was built in 1603 and was mainly dedicated to the fire god Homusubi no Mikoto, but also to Mizuhanome no Mikoto (a god of water), ?yamazumi no Mikoto (a god of mountains) and Yamato Takeru no Mikoto (a god of military).
The main stairs on the east side of the hill, Otoko-zaka (Man slope), were said to have a hundred steps even if there were only 86. They were particularly famous for being mentioned in old tales about Magaki Heikuro, a legendary equestrian who is said to have ascended and descended them on a horse. However, the inclination of the stairs being of about 40 degrees, this story is quite unlikely. Climbing the stairs was also a popular activity that also symbolized reaching success in life.
The stairs visible today were re-built in 1966 after the Second World War.

Early photographs of this site are numerous and the earliest panoramic shot known was taken by Felice Beato circa 1865.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Gates

Architecture > Architectural features > Torii

Places > Asia > Japan

Religion > Religious facilities > Shinto shrines

Transport > Land > Rickshaws