Buddhist paintings

Buddhist painting is a painting based on Buddhism. Mural paintings of temples, silk, paper, paintings painted on boards, prints, etc. Buddhist picture (buddhist image) refers broadly to Buddhist paintings and includes Buddhist tales, such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, Pure Land Phase Diagram (such as Tempura Mandara), Beginner’s Guide, Bikka Hakodo Map, Rokudo Painting, Including ancestral episodes, picture scrolls, ancestral drawings, portraits of Zen sect monks, and portraits of general monks.

In the narrow sense it is a painting used in Buddhism, especially religious sects’ worship and ceremonies. Painting (single image or group image) and mandala (both world mandala and another mandala etc.) depicting such things as Buddha (Tathaga) and Bodhisattva, believed in Buddhism, gods of ancient India, including Chinese and Japanese gods )including.

Buddhist paintings in India and Southeast Asia
Mural paintings of the Ajanta Caves (centered around the 5th – 6th centuries, middle India) and mural paintings of Sigiriya (6th century, Sri Lanka) are famous.

Buddhist paintings in Central Asia
At Buddhist temples ruins such as Bamiyan, Kizil Caves, Meirang Archaeological Site, Bezeklik and others there are wall paintings decorating stones and soil walls, and there are various styles of influences such as Rome, India, China.

Chinese Buddhist paintings
According to “Historical masterpieces”, it seems that mural painting was central until the Tang Dynasty. From the Dunhuang Mogao Caves, Buddhist paintings drawn at the beginning of the Scriptures of Rolling Curls as illustrations of Buddhist paintings and scriptures drawn in Hata (Nobori) in addition to numerous murals from the 5th century to the 12th century were discovered together with the Dunhuang literature .

In the Dunhuang caves, around the 5th century of the Northern Wei, many Buddhismists and main living bunches were produced. From around the 7th century in the Tang Dynasty, the Pure Land map of each Tathagata (Jodo Phase diagram) increases.

Five of the Shinto seven fathers who Kukai prospected for Tojo in the future are 5 Tang Dynasty paintings (ACE 806) produced by court painter Li Kim and others.

Lee Myung, non-aerial statue
In front of the 5th generation tens of thousands of era, the appearance of a continuous figure (zh: consecutive holidays) (832 – 912) is known.

As an early works of Liao there is a mural painting of Iwanzanji (zh: Iwanzanji) (Shanxi province) of the Northern Song Dynasty style (ACE 1167).

Buddhist paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty were also imported to Japan, and silk color colored thousand handy notes gathered in the collection of Nagaji Temple are transmitted. After the Southern Song Dynasty, Buddhist paintings of ink paintings and white drawing were also created, tailored to the hobbies of Zen temples and literary bureaucrats.

Makizane Kannon monkey cranes drawing (Daitokuji), Mizuki Sukimoto, Southern Song Dynasty
Wu Arai (zh: Akira) Five hundred wound figures volume (Cleveland Museum of Art), paper book light tint, late Ming Dynasty
In addition, since the Mongolian people believed in Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan style Buddhist paintings were introduced in the era, and since then, they were also produced actively in the Ming and Qing Period.
Dunhuang Mogao Caves No. 275 Cave Wall Pain Sibi Wang Hsinghui Figure Cool Cool Era
Dunhuang Mogao Caves 57 Cave Wall Painting Kannon Bodhisattva Tang Dynasty

Tibetan Buddhist paintings
Mural paintings and mandalas · Buddhist drawings used for worship ceremonies called tanka.

Korean Buddhist paintings
Koryo Buddhist image

Suigetsu Kannon Koryo Era Gimme Toyo Art Museum

Japanese Buddhist paintings

Asuka period – Nara period
Regarding the Asuka period, not only Buddhist paintings but also the artifacts of paintings themselves are small, and paintings on the walls of Tamagusi Zushi of Horyuji Temple and paintings of the artistic relics such as Nomiya Temple of Nakamiya Temple from the time of painting There is no other way to memorize. Looking at these artifacts, it is estimated that the painting at that time was of a simple style, with a strong influence of the Chinese Russian style.

There are not too many painting artifacts existing in the Nara period. Looking at the slightly remaining relics such as Yakushiji Kichijo statue, Buddhist paintings of this age are strongly influenced by China and Tang as well as other shaping works of the same age. Horyuji Temple Kanedo mural paintings are characterized by strong line drawings called iron drawing and dark shadow expression, and the source of that style is considered to be in paintings in India and the west area (Central Asia). The 12 walls of the wall painting of the Horyuji Temple Kanpo murals were burned out in the fire of 1949, and only 20 mural wallpaper with small walls were escaped from burnout.

The representative work of this period is as follows.

Tamagushi (Horyuji Temple), Asuka period
Horyuji Temple Kanedo mural painting: 1949 (Showa 24) Burnout (Only the 20 side of the wall painting of the sky of small wall escapes burning), the early Nara period
Azabu Bodhisattva (Shosoin), Nara period
It became a design of 30 yen postcard price posted on January 20, 1981 (Showa 56).
Kichijoten statue (Yakushiji), Nara period
Hokkaido Nemoto Mandala (Boston Art Museum), Nara period

Heian period
Buddhist statues of esoteric origin were produced since the Nara period, but acceptance of Esoteric religion was fragmentary. In the early Heian period in the early 9th century, Mr. Kukai and Mr. Akira’s priests went on to arrive in China (studying abroad in China · Tang) and communicated the systematic esoteric religion to Japan. The Tang priest also brought numerous esoteric images such as the bilateral mandalas (also referred to as bilateral mandalas) to Japan, which have had a profound influence on Japanese Buddhist paintings since then. The bilateral mandala symbolically represents the world view of Esoteric Buddha, and although the original document which Kukai had in the future has not remained, the alias of Kamiji Temple – Kaohsiung Mandala was produced in the age of Kukai, the original Kukai It is said to be close to. Both world mandalaes are still being produced many times in the subsequent era. In addition, various mandalas and Buddhist paintings were produced for use in the training of Esoteric Buddhism.

In the latter half of the Heian era, the influence of Genji ‘s “Ryugaku gakushu” etc. spread the Pure Land faith that wishes to revive the Amida Nyoro living in the westward paradise, and also the end of the law that makes this world the end of the Buddha law Thought spread. In this relationship, Amitabha Gira invitation map, Pure land diagram etc. were thrivingly produced in this era.

Jodo three mandala (Pure land change phase diagram)
Tempura Mandala
Chikamitsu Mandala
Qinghai Mandala
In addition, faith in the Lotus Sutra centered on the court and aristocracy increased, and the statue of Psychosomatic Bodhisattva, which is supposed to protect Lotus Sutra, is actively made. This era is the era in which Japanese culture has gradually escaped the strong influence of China and the Japanese style advances, and this trend also appears in Buddhist paintings. The 12th century at the end of the Heian period is one of the peaks of Japanese Buddhist painting history, a number of aristocratic and aesthetic works with numerous gold and silver foils and stamps, including female Bodhisattva collection in the Tokyo National Museum It was. Among the scriptures such as the Lotus Sutra, there are so-called ornamental warriors, which decorate paperboard with brilliant coloring or gilt-silver foil and luxurious to strings and shafts. The paintings of these scriptures are also noticed as Buddhist paintings of this age.

Master work:

Previous term
Both military mandala (Kaohsiung Mandala) (Jingoji)
Both Mandala Mandala (Shogun / Shinsen Mandala) (Toji)
Shingon Seven founder statue Ryuune, Ryuushi (the other five are Tango) (Toji)
The twelve statues (Nara · Saidaiji)
Statue of Fudo (Yellow Fix) (Sonjo-ji)
Late stage
Female bodhisattva statue (Tokyo National Museum)
The twelve statues (Keisuke Toji and Kyoto National Museum collection)
Buddha nirvana figure (Koyasan · Kanpogunji Temple)
Amitabha Seong Come visit figure (Koyasan · Arashi Yahata lecture)
Byodoin Phoenix Hall mural (Byodoin)
A looking picture of Heike Tessenma (Itsukushima Shinto shrine)
Also, among the picture scrolls which have been actively produced in the latter half of the Heian period, things like Buddhism like the temples’ opening bells and high priest biographies can be seen.

Master work:

Shintakuya aim poetry scroll
Mekong-ji Temple ausubi scroll
Female bodhisattva statue (Tokyo National Museum)
Amida Saint Baekg-dong Figure (medium width out of 3 widths, Yoshimi Koyasan lecture)
Among the bilateral mandalas, the fetus mandala (Mandala, Shinsenin Middle Dora, Toji Temple)
Wataru out of the twelve generations (Kyoto National Museum Collection, Togashi Toji)

Kamakura Period
In this era there are continuing calligraphy and ornamental warfare also produced, but the Rokudo painting with the background of the Rokumichi Ring thought, the ten throne depicting the kings of the underworld judging the deceased, the Buddhism of the Japanese gods Buddhist paintings based on the Honten Nocturne Theory that supposedly changed the Buddha of the Buddhist monastery was a time when a new genre appeared and the contents of Buddhist paintings became diverse. In Zen sect emphasizing the inheritance from the ancestor, we respected the statue of the ancestor as well as the Buddha statue. The statue of the ancestor of the Zen sect is called the premier (chiso), and the statue of the Great King of the Daitokuji is the representative work of this era. Buddhist painting of this era generally tends to emphasize ink lines compared to those of the Heian period, and the influence of China · Song is strong in style.

Yamagoe Amitabha diagram (Kyoto · Zenlinji)
Amitabha 25 Bodhisattva visit figure (early arrival) (Chion-in)
Dashi map (Yamanashi / Fudokuji)
Statue of Great Lightning Order (Daitokuji)
Megumi Takashi Temple Top Zazen Picture (Takayamaji)
Honen Kamon Hideo (Chion-in Temple)
Pamphlet supervisor picture (Kiyotakoji)
Rokugo Picture (Shiga / Huang Jing Chuan)
Yamagoe Amitabha diagram (Zenlin Temple)
Megumi Takashi Temple Top Zazen Picture (Takayamaji)

Muromachi Period
In this era, the Ashikaga Shogunate protected the Zen sect, so Zen Buddhism became more popular than the previous generation, and the Ruhan map, the Kannon diagram, etc. by the ink was produced actively. A painter, Akira (Mincho) who lived in Tofukuji is a representative of this era, and there are many works with paintings and ink paintings.

Seiichi Akira statue of the nation (Tofukuji)
After modern times
Many Buddhist paintings are produced in the early modern era, but in this era various paintings such as barrier paintings, folding screen paintings, literary paintings on the genre, Rimpa, Maruyama Shijo school, Ukiyo-e paintings were produced and Buddhist paintings It is hard to say that it was the mainstream of painting history. However, there are also writers who left excellent Buddhist painting like Kazunobu Kano of Revival Yamato Elementary School in this era and Kazunobu Kano who painted “Five Hundred Girls Chart”.

In the Meiji Era, a number of old Buddhist paintings were performed by a painter of the Japanese Fine Arts Strain who received guidance from Okakura Kenzo (Tenshin), and a new Buddhist painting was drawn. Kanon Kannon’s picture of the Kano Kano cliff (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Sciences) is its masterpiece work.