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Lot Essay
The inscription on top is believed to be by Emperor Fushimi (1265–1317), who reigned from 1287 to 1298, based on comparisons with other examples of his writing. The date of the painting is thought to be around 1313, when Fushimi took the tonsure and became a Buddhist monk. The text reads from right to left and consists of three Buddhist ceremonial chants invoking Miroku 弥勒講式 (Miroku koshiki), written by the famous Hosso-sect monk Jokei (1155–1225). In 1192, Jokei moved to Kasagidera, outside Nara, known for Miroku worship because of the massive image of Miroku carved into a nearby cliff. Earlier, he resided at Hokuendo within Kofuku-ji, Nara, where Miroku was the primary image.
The literary genre known as koshiki was popular during the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Koshiki, translated by one scholar as “Buddhist ceremonials,” are liturgical texts that, by promoting devotion to a particular buddha, bodhisattva, or patriarch, seek to generate a karmic link (kechien 結縁) between the ritual participants and the object of devotion. Practitioners, in this case perhaps including Emperor Fushimi, who may have inscribed the koshiki on this painting, would gather in groups of ten or twelve to recite the text before the image, whether a painting or a sculpture. These gatherings were important sources of fundraising, as well.
The first two verses have been translated by James L Ford in “Competing with Amida: A Study and Translation of Jokei’s Miroku koshiki,” in Monumenta Nipponica 60, no. 1 (Spring 2005, pp. 69 and 72.) Each consists of four lines with seven characters per line:
Those who share a [karmic] connection are one and all reborn into the wondrous lotus pond whose waters manifest the eight virtues. Now we, with all disciples, dedicate ourselves to Miroku that we may achieve realization at the Dragon Flower Assembly.
八功徳水妙花池 諸有縁者悉同生
我今弟子附彌勒 龍花會中得解脱
In accordance with the Buddha with the Brilliance of the Sun, Moon, and Lamp, Miroku realized the samâdhi of consciousness-only by means of which he expounded on the seventeen stages of practice in the [Yugashiji ron 瑜伽師地論] that is now part of the True Dharma of Shakyamuni.
我隨日月燈明佛 證得唯識三昧故
今於釋迦正法中 略説五分十七他
The third verse, at the far left, is on dark silk that has suffered damage and is no longer legible.
Miroku (Maitreya), the Benevolent One, is the Buddha of the Future, who now resides in the Tosotsu heaven as a bodhisattva, awaiting final rebirth, which will take place many aeons after the death of the historical buddha, Shakyamuni. Miroku evolved as one of the most popular figures in Buddhism across Asia in both the mainstream and Mahayana traditions. From the eleventh century, the cult of Miroku received widespread popularity in Japan thanks to the Lotus Sutra and was spurred on in the Kamakura period by belief in the final age of the law (mappo). As Max Moerman writes, Miroku “promises rebirth for his devotees in his Tosotsu heaven while he is a bodhisattva, and also promises their presence at his future sermon as Buddha, in which he will inaugurate a new golden age” (in Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan, ed. Ive Covaci [New York: Asia Society Museum, 2016]).
In this painting, Miroku appears in his princely form, as a bodhisattva, in three-quarter pose, as though descending at long last from his Tosotsu heaven on a cloud in a raigo or welcoming scene. Brilliant rays of light issue from behind his head. He is bejewelled and crowned, distinguished by the design of a miniature stupa at the center of his crown. The five golden Sanskrit syllables in his halo may represent his mantra. The primarily blue and green color palette, and the technical details, such as delicate cut gold leaf (kirikane) that creates exquisite patterns in the garments and halo, reflect the style of Kamakura-period Buddhist painting.
The literary genre known as koshiki was popular during the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Koshiki, translated by one scholar as “Buddhist ceremonials,” are liturgical texts that, by promoting devotion to a particular buddha, bodhisattva, or patriarch, seek to generate a karmic link (kechien 結縁) between the ritual participants and the object of devotion. Practitioners, in this case perhaps including Emperor Fushimi, who may have inscribed the koshiki on this painting, would gather in groups of ten or twelve to recite the text before the image, whether a painting or a sculpture. These gatherings were important sources of fundraising, as well.
The first two verses have been translated by James L Ford in “Competing with Amida: A Study and Translation of Jokei’s Miroku koshiki,” in Monumenta Nipponica 60, no. 1 (Spring 2005, pp. 69 and 72.) Each consists of four lines with seven characters per line:
Those who share a [karmic] connection are one and all reborn into the wondrous lotus pond whose waters manifest the eight virtues. Now we, with all disciples, dedicate ourselves to Miroku that we may achieve realization at the Dragon Flower Assembly.
八功徳水妙花池 諸有縁者悉同生
我今弟子附彌勒 龍花會中得解脱
In accordance with the Buddha with the Brilliance of the Sun, Moon, and Lamp, Miroku realized the samâdhi of consciousness-only by means of which he expounded on the seventeen stages of practice in the [Yugashiji ron 瑜伽師地論] that is now part of the True Dharma of Shakyamuni.
我隨日月燈明佛 證得唯識三昧故
今於釋迦正法中 略説五分十七他
The third verse, at the far left, is on dark silk that has suffered damage and is no longer legible.
Miroku (Maitreya), the Benevolent One, is the Buddha of the Future, who now resides in the Tosotsu heaven as a bodhisattva, awaiting final rebirth, which will take place many aeons after the death of the historical buddha, Shakyamuni. Miroku evolved as one of the most popular figures in Buddhism across Asia in both the mainstream and Mahayana traditions. From the eleventh century, the cult of Miroku received widespread popularity in Japan thanks to the Lotus Sutra and was spurred on in the Kamakura period by belief in the final age of the law (mappo). As Max Moerman writes, Miroku “promises rebirth for his devotees in his Tosotsu heaven while he is a bodhisattva, and also promises their presence at his future sermon as Buddha, in which he will inaugurate a new golden age” (in Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan, ed. Ive Covaci [New York: Asia Society Museum, 2016]).
In this painting, Miroku appears in his princely form, as a bodhisattva, in three-quarter pose, as though descending at long last from his Tosotsu heaven on a cloud in a raigo or welcoming scene. Brilliant rays of light issue from behind his head. He is bejewelled and crowned, distinguished by the design of a miniature stupa at the center of his crown. The five golden Sanskrit syllables in his halo may represent his mantra. The primarily blue and green color palette, and the technical details, such as delicate cut gold leaf (kirikane) that creates exquisite patterns in the garments and halo, reflect the style of Kamakura-period Buddhist painting.