Artworks

Zenshin Shōnin-e (Pictorial Biography of the Holy Man Shinran)

Artwork · Anonymous · late 13th century · emakimono · Nishi Hongan-ji Temple

The illustrated life of Shinran (1173–1263), founder of the Jōdo Shin sect; the text was written by his great-grandson Kakunyo in 1295 and illustrated by an unknown, probably monk-painter. In this scene Hōnen writes an inscription for Shinran on a portrait of himself, then hands him his writings on the nenbutsu (Senjakushū) to copy — a sign of his confidence in his brightest pupil; to the left a lotus blooms in his garden. 1 Mason 2005, p. 203, fig. 235. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.