A Japanese grave of Ernest Fenollosa, who was a Massachusetts-born Spanish American art historian, is at remote Homyoin Temple (法明院) by Mount Hiei (比叡山) overlooking Lake Biwa (琵琶湖) in Shiga prefecture in Japan. Here’s what it looks like.
Who is Ernest Fenollosa
Ernest Fenollosa is probably the most important art historian in the context of Japanese art.
He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard University, and taught at the University of Tokyo (東京大学, then-the Imperial University at Tokyo). He is best known for establishing the ideas of ‘nihonga (日本画 / Japanese painting)’ and ‘kokuho (国宝 / Japan’s National Treasure)’.
So Japanese art in general is, theoretically, kind of, maybe, Hispanic New England. It’s almost lobster nachos (NO IT’S NOT).
A nihonga painting titled ‘Hanbyo (斑猫, Tabby Cat)’ by Takeuchi Seiho (竹内栖鳳).
After he left Japan for the US, he worked for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. During his research at The British Museum in London in 1908, he died of a heart attack at the age of 55. His body was interred at Highgate Cemetery in London. Some ashes were sent to Japan’s Homyoin Temple in Shiga. It’s said that the Tokyo School of Fine Arts covered expenses of the grave.
Ernest Fenollosa’s grave at Homyoin Temple
At Homyoin Temple.
Homyoin Temple, also known as Mii-dera (三井寺) or Onjo-ji (園城寺), is a remote temple in Otsu in Shiga prefecture. I don’t know how I manage to get there without a car (my Shiga-based American friend said “Shiga is America.”). Here at Homyoin Temple, my pilgrimage paid off. The temple had Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke-ish vibe, which I might as well appreciate.
Ernest Fenollosa’s grave.
Says “Ernest Fenollosa’s grave (アーネスト・フェノロサの墓).”
There was nobody at Homyoin Temple. It almost looked like an abandoned graveyard. But Ernest Fenollosa’s grave was clearly well taken care of. There were some offerings and a relatively new Japanese explanation about the grave. I could stay longer had it not been for a leech eating my leg. That could have given me a heart attack.
RIP, Ernest Francisco Fenollosa.
Ernest Fenollosa’s grave (アーネスト・フェノロサの墓) | 233 Onjojicho, Otsu, Shiga 〒520-0036, Japan
