Fujisawa City opened the Fujisawa Ukiyo-e Museum, a facility where local materials, including ukiyo-e of Fujisawa-juku on the Tokaido and Enoshima, can be viewed, with the aim of fostering a love for the local area among its citizens and contributing to the improvement of their culture. Fujisawa City's ukiyo-e and other materials collection began in 1980 (Showa 55) to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the city's incorporation, with the Enoshima ukiyo-e and other materials being donated by former Nihon University president Wu Wen-byung. Since then, as part of its local materials collection, the city has been collecting ukiyo-e and related materials featuring Fujisawa-juku and Enoshima.
Ukiyo-e are paintings that depict people's lives and social conditions, and developed as a form of popular culture during the Edo period. Furthermore, at the end of the 19th century, they had a major influence on European painters such as Van Gogh, and are now art forms that have attracted attention from all over the world. During the Edo period, Fujisawa was the location of Fujisawa-shuku on the Tokaido, and the location of the head temple of the Jishū sect, Seijoko-ji Temple (Yugyo-ji Temple). As the entrance to the pilgrimage routes to Enoshima and Mt. Oyama (Afuriyama), which were places of faith and leisure, many ukiyo-e prints based on famous places and legends were created here.
Fujisawa Ukiyo-e Museum will continue to strive to be a facility that conveys and familiarizes people with local culture and is an enjoyable place to visit. We sincerely look forward to your visit.
