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

The Masuda family formerly owned an illustrated handscroll called Tales of the Buddhist Hells that had long been handed down as a set with the Extermination of Evil (National Treasure, Nara National Museum). Tales of the Buddhist Hells was originally made up of seven scenes, but the fifth scene was cut out and mounted on this hanging scroll. It explicitly depicts the hells for fallen monks described in the Horse-Headed Demon Sutra (J. Mezu rasetsu kyō; alt. Ch. Baoda pusa wenda baoying shamen jing), which is quoted in the 16-fascicle Sutra of the Buddhas’ Names (J. Butsumyō kyō; Ch. Foming jing). The scene shown here is the “hell of boiling excrement.”

The scroll is thought to be related to year-end repentance ceremonies (Butsumyō-e) held at the imperial court during the Heian period (794–1185), which involved a ritual reading of the Sutra of the Buddhas’ Names. Painted folding screens were displayed during the ceremony that depicted the Buddhist hells, including the hells for fallen monks. It is possible that the deities associated with exterminating evil were also painted on these folding screens, leading some to believe that the Masuda copy of Tales of the Buddhist Hells and the accompanying Extermination of Evil were originally produced as a set based on them.

The painting techniques follow the classical yamato-e style of the Heian period, as seen in the meticulous underdrawings and shading of the figures. The calligraphy is in the style of the poet Jakuren (ca. 1139–1202). Some elements, however, indicate the work was made during a transitional phase toward styles of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), such as the lines of varied thicknesses delineating the physique of the horse-headed demon. This suggests the original handscroll was produced between the end of the Heian period and the start of the Kamakura period.