The is a group of or (painted narrative handscrolls) from the Kamakura period of Japanese history (1185–1333). A set of illuminated manuscripts, the group describes the life of (1234–1289), a Buddhist monk who founded the branch of Pure Land Buddhism.

Amongst the various bearing this title, the original version from 1299, named , is the best known and most famous. A second version, made in a more accessible style in the 14th century, and named , also recounts the biography of the monk. As many copies of these two original were subsequently produced, the whole group is often referred to under the term .

The , the original version created by and painted by , consists of twelve rolls of silk, a very expensive material, with alternating calligraphy texts and paintings. The pictorial style and the composition of the illustrations are unheard of in the art of , drawing inspiration both from Japanese (the traditional style of the Imperial Court) and from the Chinese landscape in the wash technique of the Song dynasty and in line with the realistic tendencies in the Japanese art of the Kamakura period.

The , completed between 1303 and 1307 under the leadership of in ten rolls of paper, covers the biographies of and especially of his successor . Less refined, it has a proselytising vocation and aims to establish 's legitimacy as co-founder of the school. This version, now destroyed, has reached us through its various copies.

Background arts

Originating in Japan in the sixth or seventh century through trade with the Chinese Empire, art spread widely among the aristocracy in the Heian period. An consists of one or more long rolls of paper narrating a story through texts and paintings. The reader discovers the story by progressively unrolling the scroll with one hand while rewinding it with the other hand, from right to left (according to the then horizontal writing direction of Japanese script), so that only a portion of text or image of about is visible. The narrative assumes a series of scenes, the rhythm, composition and transitions of which are entirely the artist's sensitivity and technique. The themes of the stories were very varied: illustrations of novels, historical chronicles, religious texts, biographies of famous people, humorous or fantastic anecdotes, etc.

The Kamakura period (12th–14th century), which followed a period of unrest and civil war, was marked by the arrival in power of the warrior class (the samurai). This politically and socially unstable period provided fertile ground for Buddhism to proselytize, whether through the depiction of the sutras, or by illustrated accounts of the lives of illustrious monks. Under the impetus of the new warrior class in power and the new Buddhist sects, artistic production was very sustained and the themes and techniques were even more varied than before, signalling the "golden age" of (the 12th and 13th centuries).

The fits into this context. Biographies of monks ( or ) were very popular at the time of the Kamakura, that theme being favoured by the emergence of many Pure Land Buddhist schools.

and the school

The various versions and copies of the relate the life of (1234–1289), a Buddhist monk who, in 1274, founded the school, one of the branches of Pure Land Buddhism that supplanted the ancient esoteric and elitist Japanese schools of the Kamakura period. Following the Pure Land principles, taught that the Amida Buddha (Amitābha) welcomes into his paradise anyone who has faith in him; he initiates the faithful to the daily recitation of the name of the Amida Buddha () and the rituals of ecstatic dances and songs (), a simple religious practice accessible to all, even the poor and the uneducated. According to the accounts of the time, this doctrine would have been revealed to by a manifestation of the Buddha; then devoted his life to travelling throughout Japan, especially rural areas, to carry the message.

Born in 1239, was the second son of a family of the samurai clan in Iyo Province. He entered religious orders at the age of fifteen and studied the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism (known in Japan as ) in Dazaifu with , himself a disciple of , before devoting himself to hermit meditation in the mountains. In the summer of 1274, retired to the Kumano shrine, a sacred place of the Shinto religion. According to legend, he there received a revelation () that invited him to spread throughout the country the faith of Amida: ie any man can access the Pure Land () of the Buddha Amida through the , that is to say the recitation invoking his name.

From then onwards, travelled to temples and shrines in Japan to spread this doctrine. He also took the name of and lead the life of an itinerant pilgrim, distributing tablets with the inscribed on them. As a sign of a time when religious education was becoming more popular and accessible, preached in all places of everyday life: inns, markets, villages ... He accompanied his recitations of the name of Amida with ecstatic dances () which seduced the populace with their "frenzied exaltation". In 1289, he fell ill and died in (now Kobe) at (). He is said to have asked that no funeral rites be held for him.

It seems that converted a large segment of the population to the doctrine, perhaps more than 250,000 people. From the middle of the 14th century to the early 16th century, was probably one of the most popular Amidist schools in Japan. However, in the 16th century, it greatly lost influence, and nowadays it is no longer a minority religious movement.

The two versions of the The narrating the life of and collectively known as are divided into two lineages: those from the version known as (disciple and younger brother or nephew of Ippen), made in 1299, and those from the version referred to as (pupil of , himself a disciple of ), completed between 1304 and 1307, and now lost. The oldest and most famous of the versions is known as and of the versions is called or .

Various direct or indirect copies of the and versions exist, such as the copy (1323), rather burlesque in the vein of the movement, the copy (second half of the 14th or early 15th century), close to the original of 1299, and the copy (in , made in 1594 by ), aiming at the extraordinary. The exhaustive list of temples or institutions with a copy today (excluding private collections and fragments) is:

in line with the version at (Kyoto): the copy (Kyoto, the so-called , now stored in the library and in the family collection), the copy (Niigata) and the Fujita Art Museum copy (Osaka); in line with the version at (Fujisawa; the original version has been lost, but the temple itself has a copy): the Konren-ji copies (Kyoto, two copies), and the copies known as (Kobe), (Yamagata), (Niigata), (Niigata), (Kyoto), (Onomichi) and (Nagano); according to H. Sasaki, there are twenty complete or incomplete copies of this version, including the ones in private collections.

Biographies probably occasionally mix 's life with those of other monks such as , especially in relation to his apprenticeship at Tendai. Other famous monks also had their biographies depicted in , including and .

version (1299): Description

The very first version, known as that of (disciple and close to during his lifetime), was completed in 1299, ten years after the monk's death, and remains the best known and most studied by historians and specialists in art history: with it, the art of the reaches "one of its peaks". The work consists of twelve scrolls high and long, which have the distinction of being in silk (probably to mark the importance of the monk) and not in paper as is most common. The number of twelve scrolls has also been linked to Amida as the Buddha of the Twelve Rays of Light.

Its creation in 1299 is attributed to , author of the text, while the paintings were carried out under the direction of the painter , probably a disciple of during his lifetime, as evidenced by the faithful transcription of his life, and who could have been a high priest of or a professional painter linked to the Imperial Court. The exact role of remains open to interpretation: the size of the and variations in styles suggest that several assistants probably collaborated under the direction of the master. Stylistic studies enable the linking of the paintings with the workshops of the () and temples, due to the proximity of mandalas conceived by the workshops. Four main styles have been identified for the calligraphy, the work of several aristocrats of the Imperial Court led by , and carried out separately on silk coupons of various colours.

The sponsor is not known for sure or named on the colophon. The quality and richness of the work, carried out on silk, a luxury material and support of only one other known today (the ), strongly suggest an order from a wealthy patron of the court, probably a convert, to make an offering to . The most commonly advanced hypothesis as to the identity of this patron is that of the Grand Chancellor .

Recognised as a National Treasure of Japan, the belongs to the temple in Kyoto (founded by with the support of ), but is now kept in the National Museums of Kyoto and Nara. Part of Scroll VII, stored at the Tokyo National Museum since 1951, and a fragment of Scroll VI belonging to a private collector, were detached at the beginning of the Meiji era. Their state of preservation is generally good, despite a few lost or erased fragments.

Themes

The texts of the version narrate the key episodes of 's life in three broad periods: his initiation and his studies of Buddhism until the revelation of 1274 in Kumano, the creation of the congregation that would become the school, and the end of his life as he attracted large crowds of faithful to his sermons. Throughout the biography 's sermons, prayers and many poems are quoted. Other texts on the foundation of temples and shrines () visited by the monk are also included. Unlike later versions or other biographies of patriarchs, there is no intention in the paintings of this work to give a mystical or divine dimension to , who is often relegated to the background in favor of landscape illustrations. The calligraphies are more proselytising and relate the various miracles attributed to during his life, so that the text rarely corresponds to the images. The creator however avoids any excess and in this biography expresses affection and respect towards .

The version also appears very refined, full of restraint and intended for an elite, reviving the literary and pictorial tradition of the Heian court. The paintings and texts give a lyrical atmosphere to the work, via the themes of poetry, travel and pilgrimage. The landscapes are very numerous, faithfully transcribing easily recognizable famous Japanese sights, such as the emergence of Mount Fuji above the mist, the Itsukushima Shrine or the Nachi Falls, as well as numerous temples and places of pilgrimage such as Mount Kōya or Kumano shrine, the visiting of which had great importance in 's life (and therefore loomed large). The work is similar in this sense to paintings (paintings of famous views) and travelogues, traditional themes associated with the Imperial Court and poetry.

The importance given to landscapes and genre scenes remains rare in illustrated biographies of monks: here, the painter alternates stylised landscapes inspired by traditional Heian poetry and realistic representations of places and people, an original approach in the movement. By comparison, other illustrated biographies of monks (such as the ) emphasise the characters and the dynamism of the narrative, or fall into stereotyping and repetition.

Style and composition