Protection (19) * Omamori blessed by monks, Kyoto * For wallet

Omamori PROTECTION (bad luck, negative energy, evil eye, curses, demons, etc.) for wallet

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IMAGE: Ushigome (drawing by Tsuchiya Koitsu, 1870-1949)

Ushigome (牛込) is the name of a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and a former ward in the now-defunct Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Yotsuya ward of Tokyo City and Yodobashi suburban ward of Tokyo-fu to form the modern Shinjuku ward.

This painting is a work of the Japanese painter Tsuchiya Koitsu, was an important artist in the Shin-hanga movement. Bon September 23, 1870, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. His birth name was either Koichi or Sahei. He moved to Tokyo at age 15. He first had an apprenticeship for the woodblock carver Matsuzaki, but soon became a student of ukiyo-e master Kiyochika Kobayashi. He worked for Kiyochika for 19 years and lived in his house.

He initially published prints made during the First Sino-Japanese War, before developing his skill with dramatic light effects, learned from Kiyochika. Koitsu published through the Watanabe publishing house after Watanabe and Koitsu met at an exhibition commemorating the 17th anniversary of Kiyochika's death. He also produced prints for publishers Doi Sadaichi, Kawaguchi, Baba Nobuhiko, Tanaka Shobido, and Takemura.