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

The historical buddha Śākyamuni is believed to have attained nirvana upon the death of his physical body. This painting depicts his passing at a place between two sal trees by the Hiraṇyavatī River. Śākyamuni’s death is one of the most important scenes in the narrative of the historical buddha’s life, and works depicting it were created soon after Buddhism was brought to Japan. An early example is one of the four sculpted tableaux surrounding the central pillar on the ground floor of Hōryūji Temple’s five-story pagoda . Paintings of the scene were also the principal image of worship for ceremonies held on Parinirvana Day in the early Heian period (794–1185). Śākyamuni’s death remained a popular subject in art, and each school of Buddhism developed its own iconographies in the periods that followed while simultaneously drawing inspiration from Chinese art.

This painting is a highly unusual depiction of Śākyamuni’s death. It was created in the Chinese port city of Ningbo during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and later brought to Japan. The two sal trees are rendered like “seven-treasure trees” described in sutras, and the disciples surrounding Śākyamuni do not look very sad. The inclusion of two non-Chinese figures, presumably from the north or west of China, dancing on both sides of an incense burner as if they are celebrating Śākyamuni’s entry into nirvana is also unique. Some scholars believe this composition reflects developments in the religious environment in Ningbo at the time.

There is a small inscription in standard script near the middle of the viewer’s right. It reveals the painting was created at the studio of a professional artist specializing in Buddhist subjects named Lu Xinzhong (dates unknown) during the period in which Ningbo was known as Qingyuan (1195–1276). The work marks a shift from earlier Buddhist paintings that predominantly used intermediary colors. Instead, it features powerful renderings of its subjects using dense coloration combined with strong, delicate line work and ornate patterning in colored pigments. Among extant works signed by Lu Xinzhong, this painting and another held by the Nara National Museum called The Ten Kings of Hell are the highest quality.

An ink inscription on the upper part of the mounting indicates the work was formerly owned by the subtemple Hōju-in of Tsushima Shrine in Aichi Prefecture.