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Legends of the Yūzū Nembutsu Sect

Long painted scroll, green, brown mountains, wooden house, Amida Buddha on cloud.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Long painted scroll, green, brown mountains, wooden house, Amida Buddha on cloud.

Date:

Kamakura period (1185–1333), 14th century

Artist:

Artist unknown
Japanese, active 14th century

About this artwork

This handscroll illustrates the foundation of the Yūzū Nembutsu sect of Japanese Buddhism. A priest named Ryōnin (1072–1132) founded the sect in the Heian period (794–1185). He taught that individuals could attain rebirth in the Western paradise of Amida Buddha, the primary buddha of the Pure Land branch of Buddhism, merely by chanting his name. “Yuzu Nembutsu” means “chanting [Amida’s] name in communion”—a reference to the belief that chanting by one person would affect all other beings.

This scene is the culmination of the scroll and shows different faiths coming together in support of Ryōnin.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Legends of the Yūzū Nembutsu Sect

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1185–1333

Medium

Handscroll; ink, colors, and gold on paper

Dimensions

30.5 × 1176.9 cm (12 × 460 in.)

Credit Line

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment

Reference Number

1956.1256

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/56731/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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