Woodblock Print Book by Hidenobu Tosa: Buddhist Image Guide, E-hon Format

A lotus pressed into the cover, faint as a watermark, greets the reader before page one.

This woodblock print book, Buddhist Image Guide, E-Hon Format, is from Japan, dated 1783, in ink on paper, by Hidenobu Tosa. Illustrated guides to Buddhist imagery were widely printed in the Edo period, helping artists and devotees identify deities by their attributes and postures. The book is stitch-bound along the right edge. The grey-blue cover is embossed with a lotus flower and pod. A tall paper title slip is printed in bold characters, partly patched with blue paper. Foxing and losses mark the edges. It is 6.3 inches wide and 8.9 high.

A reference work, kept for reverence and for reference.