National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This painstakingly embroidered masterpiece is known as the “Kajūji Embroidery,” because it was formerly owned by Kajūji Temple in Kyoto. The red-robed figure in the center is the historical buddha Śākyamuni. He is seated on a jeweled throne, the back of which is rendered in a style seen in Indian Gupta art. A jeweled tree and jeweled canopy are above him, and he is surrounded by bodhisattvas, disciples, and lay people. Celestial beings play instruments on top of clouds, and immortals are flying on birds. The work appears to depict Śākyamuni preaching the Lotus Sutra on Vulture Peak in the Indian kingdom of Magadha. Recent scholarship, however, has produced several other theories. These include: that the work is instead a painting of the future buddha Miroku (Skt. Maitreya), or that it is meant to represent the first image of Śākyamuni commissioned by King Udāyana, or that it is a painting of Śākyamuni preaching in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Divinities (Skt. Trāyastriṃśa), where his mother Queen Maya (Skt. Māyā) transmigrated. Whatever its subject, the work offers a glimpse of the splendor of the Pure Lands that Buddhists of the day aspired to be reborn into.

The foundation fabric of the work is a large piece of white plain-weave silk. French knots are used to render Śākyamuni’s spiral curls and pedestal, the bodhisattva’s robes and personal ornaments, and parts of the attributes held by disciples. The rest of the embroidery is executed in chain stitch with Z-twist yarns. Blank spaces, like those between the deities and human figures, are filled with a diamond pattern in chain stitch. For this reason, the ground is visible only in small sections where the thread has worn away. The work reveals its creator’s deep understanding of and proficiency in embroidery techniques. A three-dimensionality difficult to obtain in painting is achieved here by the varying sizes of the French knots, the thickness of the threads in the chain stitches, and the way in which the stitches change direction in certain sections.

Comparisons with the iconographies in the wall paintings in China’s Dunhuang Caves, sculptures in China’s Longmen Caves, and the murals in the Kondō Hall of Hōryūji Temple in Japan indicate that this textile was made no later than the early 8th century. While there is no firm consensus as to whether it was produced in Japan or China, the use of chain stitch across the entire surface coupled with the use of French knots, which do not appear to have been used in Japan during this period, suggest that it was embroidered in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907).

The current panel mounting was attached during repairs in the early modern period. The textile is believed to have originally been decoratively hung on the wall of a Buddhist hall, but recent conservation has retained the panel mounting. Records indicate that many embroidered works were produced during this time period, but nearly all have been lost, making this work a particularly important piece of history.