![]() ![]() An unusual feature is the depiction of Shakyamuni holding a begging bowl-an attribute symbolic of his life as a mendicant-in lieu of displaying a mudra. These three figures provide a contrast with the worldly appearance of the rakan. The ethereal beauty of Fugen and Monju, the bodhisattvas of universal virtue and wisdom, respectively, and of the fully enlightened Buddha is rendered with the refined elegance of Late Heian Buddhist paintings. In following this tradition, the painter delighted in rendering the facial expressions of the rakan and in creating lively representations of the various creatures-tigers, geese, monkeys, dragons-that often accompany them. The individualized representation of the aged disciples reflects a tradition of rakan figure painting associated with the Northern Song master Li Gonglin (fl. Although it is not possible to ascribe the Burke painting definitively to a Takama artist, the style suggests that it was influenced by trends that developed in the Takuma school and that it was made in the fourteenth century. The connection between Takuma artists and Zen temples is further substantiated by the inscriptions of Zen monks on paintings attributed to the Takuma school. Landscape elements in this painting, such as the precipitous rocks delineated in texture strokes and the use of modulating lines for the robes of the rakan, reflect some of the features that Japanese artists absorbed from Chinese ink paintings brought to Japan by Zen monks as early as the thirteenth century. Takuma artists were noted for incorporating Song and Yuan styles into their work. Many early Buddhist figure paintings have traditionally been attributed to painters of the Takuma school of e-busshi (artists who specialized in Buddhist painting), who were active in Kyoto and Kamakura in the Late Heian and Kamakura periods. 593–628), and on the right the monk Kūkai (774–835), the founder of Shingon Buddhism. An unusual feature is the inclusion of two additional figures at the bottom of the composition: on the left Shōtoku Taishi (574–622), prince regent during the reign of the empress Suiko (r. ![]() As depicted here, this famous site in northern India appears to be a variant on literal renderings of the landscape in which the peak is given the form of a bird's head, its perceived shape and hence the source of its name. The theme of the picture can be interpreted as a gathering of devotees around the Buddha, who is shown preaching at Vulture Peak, which rises in the background among swirling clouds. Below the triad are the Sixteen Rakan (Skt: arhat Ch: luohan), advanced disciples of the Buddha. This hanging scroll focuses on the triad of Shaka and two bosatsu, Fugen (Skt: Samantabhadra) on an elephant and Monju (Manjushri) on a lion. ![]()
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