- 絹本著色地蔵菩薩像
- 1 hanging scroll
- Ink and colors on silk Cut gold leaf (kirikane) Hanging scroll
- H 92.8 (upper 5.8 added later), W 38.7
- Kamakura period/14th century
- Nara National Museum
- 1109(絵208 A)
The bodhisattva Jizō (Skt. Kṣitigarbha) is tasked with rescuing sentient beings during the degenerate age between the death of the buddha Śākyamuni and the final rebirth of the bodhisattva Miroku (Skt. Maitreya). Jizō is often depicted gliding on a cloud to highlight his ability to travel to all six realms of rebirth, namely, the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demigods, and divinities. Some however, like this work, show Jizō sitting serenely in a landscape. Such compositions may be associated with those showing the bodhisattva Kannon (Skt. Avalokiteśvara) on Mount Potalaka. Jizō is depicted here in the usual guise of a Buddhist priest holding a sacred jewel in the left hand and a staff with a ringed final in the right. The facial features and body are small, well-toned, and neatly composed. Influences from Chinese paintings of the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties are seen in the blue-green palette for the robes, the almost excessive degree of ornateness in the cut-gold leaf patterns, and the simple ink painting techniques used to render the landscape. The work is an instructive example of trends in Buddhist painting during the late Kamakura period (1185–1333).
100098
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