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Japan: A God of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin, from an untitled series of the 'Three Gods of Japanese Poetry' (waka sanjin). Woodblock print, Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850), c. 1825

Japan: A God of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin, from an untitled series of the 'Three Gods of Japanese Poetry' (<i>waka sanjin</i>). Woodblock print, Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850), c. 1825

Sumiyoshi sanjin is the generic name for the three Shinto gods Sokotsutsu no o no Mikoto, Nakatsutsu no o no Mikoto, and Uwatsutsu no o no Mikoto. The Sumiyoshi sanjin are regarded as the gods of the sea and sailing. They are sometimes referred to as the Sumiyoshi daijin.

Totoya Hokkei was a Japanese printmaker and book illustrator. He initially studied painting with Kano Yosen (1735-1808), the head of the Kobikicho branch of the Kano School and okaeshi (official painter) to the Tokugawa shogunate.

Together with Teisai Hokuba (1771-1844), Hokkei was one of Katsushika Hokusai's best students.

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