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Houraisan@ –H—‰ŽR
KEY WORD :@1@architecture / general terms, 2@art history / paintings
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1@Lit. Mt. Penglai. Ch: Penglaishan. The most famous of the three Elysian mountain-isles believed to lie off the coast of China. Along with Fangzhangshan (Jp: Houjousan •ûäŽR) and Yingzhoushan (Jp: Eishuusan àiFŽR), Penglaishan was inhabited by immortals, tortoises, cranes, stags and auspicious plants including the pine, peach, plum and mushrooms all symbols of longevity. Legends concerning Mt. Penglai were widespread from ancient times, particuraly in Daoism. The First Emperor of the Qin dynasty (Ch: Qinshihuangdi / Jp: Shin Shikoutei `Žnc’é, 259-210 BC) even sent several expeditions in search of the island. Stories of its gold and silver treasure attracted other adventurers, although according to tradition the island could not be visited by mortals. Emperor Wu (Jp; Bu •, ?56-87 BC) of the Han dynasty had three islands with pavilions build in a pond within his massive garden. The idea of recreating the aupicious Mt. Penglai by building an artificial pond island within a garden was probably adopted in Japanese gardens of the Heian period although no examples remain. Mt. Penglai was associated with cranes, who supposedly lived there, and a tortoise, on the back of which the island was carried. Because the 11c garden treatise *SAKUTEIKI ì’ë‹L mentions crane islands *tsurujima ’ß“‡, and tortoise islands *kamejima ‹T“‡, in pond gardens, this may well indicate an elaboration on the Mt. Penglai island design. Because the evergreen pine is a symbol of longevity, garden recreations of Penglai often include pines. Penglai appears frequently in Japanese gardens beginning in the Kamakura period, usually represented by a pyramidal stone *houraiseki –H—‰Î, by a group of stones hourai iwagumi –H—‰Î‘g, or an island *hourai gantou –H—‰Šâ“‡. These elements appear both in pond style@chisenshiki ’ròŽ® and dry landscape *karesansui ŒÍŽR… gardens. A related motif is the *houraibune –H—‰M, a treasure boat that travels to and from the island. Gardens in which Penglai is the thematic focus are called *hourai teien –H—‰’뉀, while gardens in which Penglai is a motif are *hourai youshiki –H—‰—lŽ®.

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@ Houraisan was depicted in Chinese painting at least from the Tang dynasty and long remained a favorite auspicious symbol. In Japan, Houraisan appeared in literature from TAKETORI MONOGATARI ’|Žæ•¨Œê (The Tale of Bamboo Cutter; ca. 900). It was associated with local mountains, for instance Mt. Kumano ŒF–ì in Wakayama prefecture and became a common motif in garden and miniature rock garden, bonseki –~Î design. Later the legendary mountain became a favorite subject for Edo painters such as Maruyama Oukyo ‰~ŽR‰ž‹“ (1733-95; Higashihonganji “Œ–{ŠèŽ›, Kyoto), Nagasawa Rousetsu ’·‘òåbá (1754-99), and Tomioka Tessai •x‰ª“SÖ (1837-1924).
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