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Yuuzuu Nenbutsu engi@—Z’Κ”O•§‰‹N
KEY WORD :@art history / paintings
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The History and Benefits of the Yuuzuu Nenbutsu. A handscroll theme recounting the early history of the Yuuzuu Nenbutsu —Z’Κ”O•§ sect which held that one person's invocation of *Amida ˆ’–ν‘Ι could benefit all mankind. The original text was written in 1314, and illustrated soon after in a pair of no-longer extant scrolls *emaki ŠGŠͺ. The Yuuzuu Nenbutsu teachings were articulated by Ryounin —Η”E (1073-1132), who can be seen as a precursor or model for *Hounen –@‘R (1133-1212), the founder of the Joudo ς“y sect. Ryounin's life is depicted in the first scroll of the pair. A student and priest on Mt. Hiei ”δ‰b as a young man, in 1095 Ryounin retired to a hermitage in nearby Oohara ‘εŒ΄ to study and recite sutras. In 1117, while Ryounin was meditating Amida appeared and revealed the message that belief in Amida's grace expressed in recitation of the nenbutsu prayer "All Praise to Amida Buddha" brings salvation not only to oneself but "benefits accrue" yuuzuu —Z’Κ to all other sentient beings including one's ancestors. In 1124, while Ryounin was meditating at Kuramadera ˆΖ”nŽ› in Kyoto, *Bishamonten ”ωΉ–ε“V appeared and asked him to spread his revelation to others. Ryounin began to preach in Kyoto and he spent the next nine years travelling across Japan. The scroll ends with his death and a raigou —ˆŒ} scene of his welcome into Amida's paradise. The second scroll depicts the benefits of nenbutsu recitation to people of both high and low birth, in this world and the next.
There are many extant illustrated scrolls of the Yuuzuu Nenbutsu engi. The earliest surviving pair of scrolls (Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Art Museum in USA) were produced in the first half of the 14c. Versions now at Chion-in ’m‰Ά‰@ in Kyoto, the Nezu ͺ’Γ Museum in Tokyo, Dainenbutsuji ‘ε”O•§Ž› in Osaka, and the Freer Art Gallery in USA, were all produced between 1381-87. A demand was so great that woodblock printed versions were produced in 1390 and 1410 under the impetus of the priest Ryouchin —Η’Α (?-1382-1423-?). Ryouchin, in effect the real organizer of the Yuuzuu Nenbutsu sect, relied on the diffusion of the scrolls throughout Japan not only to present the nenbutsu teachings but also to encourage the collection of donations kanjin Š©i and solidify a network of temple affiliations. Influence, if not competition, from the Joudo, Joudoshin ς“y^ and Ji Žž sects, which had their own illustrated biographies of sect founders (see *kousouden-e ‚‘m“`ŠG), may also have spurred production of Yuuzuu Nenbutsu engi scrolls. A 1414 pair of highly ornate scrolls at Seiryouji ΄—ΑŽ› in Kyoto, for noble patrons who wrote out the text passages, includes paintings signed by Tosa Yukihide “y²sG (fl.ca.1430?), Rokkaku Jakusai ˜ZŠpŽβΟ (1348?-1424?), Awataguchi Takamitsu ˆΎ“cŒϋ—²Œυ (fl.e.15c), Tosa Mitsukuni “y²Œυ‘ (fl. 1394-1424) Tosa Yukihiro “y²sL (fl. 1406-34) and Tosa Eishun “y²‰it (fl. ca. 1369-1468). There is a well-known version at Zenrinji ‘T—ΡŽ› in Kyoto, from the late 15c. Copies, printed and painted, continued to be made well into the 19c. Nenbutsu practices were an integral part of popular religion in the Edo period, however, the Yuuzuu Nenbustu sect declined organizationally and politically and was in effect subsumed by the Joudo and Joudoshin sects.
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