Kakunyo (1 results)

Two beautifully painted handscrolls on paper (I: 280 x 12,395; II: 280 x 13,290 mm.). [Japan]: 1840 (date of colophon). It is difficult to overstate the great beauty of these two illustrated scrolls depicting the life of Shinran, a key figure in Japanese Buddhism. The artist, while anonymous, was extremely skilled in portraying scenes from Shinran's life, employing large amounts of gold, silver, sprays of golden mist (called kindei "golden mud") to depict clouds, and thick pigments to give 3-D effects. The images show architectural details; complex garden landscapes; the different seasons signalled by colorful flora; richly detailed attire; and luxuriously appointed interiors, wall paintings, silk screens, and sliding doors. The artist has also portrayed the faces of the priests and other participants in Shinran's life in remarkable detail, using varying hues for each face. Throughout the scrolls, the coloring is rich and vivid. Quite simply, these scrolls are of the highest quality, accomplished by a skilled and sensitive artist. Shinran (1173-1262) was a priest and founder of the J?do shinsh? ????, the True Pure Land sect. After initial studies at Mount Hiei where he regularly circumambulated a statue of the Buddha Amit?bha and recited his name for 90 days Shinran in 1201 became a disciple of H?nen ?? (1133-1212), the popularizer of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan. After being separated from H?nen when both were banished, and later by the latter's death, Shinran, "neither monk nor layman," married and raised a family, while preaching the practice of reciting the Buddha's name among the common people. Later, Shinran came to believe that the traditional practices of the bodhisattva path to Buddhahood were futile. "Shinran refers often to the single utterance that assures rebirth in the pure land. This utterance need not be audible, indeed not even voluntary, but is instead heard in the heart as a consequence of the 'single thought-moment' of shinjin [??, 'the mind of faith'], received through Amit?bha's grace."The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (2014), p. 808. After Shinran's death, the regional centers formed by his disciples eventually came under the control of the Hongan-ji temple, where a memorial cult surrounding Shinran took form. Our scrolls are products of this cult. The first scroll is divided into eight wide sections, each of which comprises text followed by exquisitely painted scenes that are much broader than the average shoulder-width scene of most scrolls. The second scroll has a similar structure and consists of seven sections, six of which contain accompanying images. The first section of the first scroll describes Shinran's family background and his entry into a Buddhist monastery. The second section shows Shinran's first visit to H?nen. The third depicts Shinran's meeting with the Boddhisattva Kanon (Guanyin) in a dream. The fourth describes how an associate of Shinran received a message in a dream suggesting that Shinran is an incarnation of Amit?bha Buddha. The fifth talks about how H?nen gave Shinran permission to copy his works and one of his portraits. The sixth and seventh sections focus on Shinran's establishment of his doctrine of shinjin, which only some of H?nen's disciples would accept. The final section describes one of Shinran's disciples painting his portrait. Again, evidence is presented suggesting that Shinran is an incarnation of Amit?bha Buddha. The first section of the second scroll discusses the prohibition of the Pure Land practices and H?nen's and Shinran's banishment. This is shown in a set of four images within the first section. The second section focuses on Shinran in exile in the northern part of Honsh? In one of the two images within this section Shinran is shown preaching to the common people in a snowstorm. In the third section, an enemy of Shinran is said to have plans to kill him, but ends up being converted instead. The image in the fourth section shows Shinran on his way back to Kyoto from banishment. In the fifth section, with two images, Shinran is in Kyoto, and in one of them we see him sitting in a temple building. Shinran's death is discussed and depicted in the sixth section, with people weeping and the monk's body lying on his tatami. In a second image within this section, Shinran's body is cremated, surrounded by a large group of followers. We believe the seventh section, which has no image, describes the establishment of a mausoleum for Shinran. Our scrolls follow earlier models but with variations in image. The example held by the city of Komatsu is dated to 1484 and is their oldest scroll. The copy in Isumi is even older, carrying colophons with the date 1344. The original was produced in 1295 by Kakunyo (1270-1351), one of Shinran's disciples. Our scrolls have a colophon dated June 1840. Two temples are named in the colophon: Enju-ji in Higo province (today's Kumamoto prefecture) and Yao Daishin-ji in Osaka. In fine condition; and preserved a beautiful lacquered wooden box with six gold inlays (a family crest employing peony images?).