昭和8年 河野清晃からの年賀状 F. M. Trautz **

昭和8年 河野清晃からの年賀状 F. M. Trautz

準別格本山総持院, 執事, 河野清晃, 和歌山県高野山

This is a 1933 New Year's card sent from Seikō Kōno to Trautz. Kono, born in Fukuoka Prefecture on August 23, 1906, was a Buddhist monk, artist, art collector, author, and President of the German-Japanese Society in Nara. He authored 高野山根本大塔の研究 "A Study of the Konpon Daito of Mount Koya" in 1934-5 (also known as Der Große Stūpa auf dem Kōyasan in Germany), which Trautz translated from Japanese to German.

At the age of eleven, Kono enlisted in the Shingon sect. As a youth, he was an avid mountaineer, mainly climbing in the Koyasan region. In 1940, he became the superintendent priest of Daianji Temple in Nara, but during WWII, he was drafted to serve in the army. In 1956, he started the "Nara Japanese-German Association," with Daianji as its headquarters. He died on November 16, 2001, at the age of 95. His death was announced in many Japanese papers and on TV.

高野山根本大塔の研究

Kono Seikou had a significant relationship with Dr. F.M. Trautz, a professor at the University of Berlin and head of the Kyoto Nara-Nichi-Do Cultural Institute. This relationship was sparked by Kono's scholarly work, "A Study of the Konpon Daito of Mount Koya," which was published during his time at Koyasan University. Dr. Trautz translated this work into German and introduced it to the world, contributing to Seikou's international recognition. This collaboration reflects Seikou's commitment to promoting cultural exchange and his efforts to engage with scholars and institutions beyond Japan.