Emma-ten and Two Attendants; below, Emma-o and Two Attendants

Object Details

• Label

  Seated astride a white bull, the Buddhist deity Emma-ten is attended by two bodhisattvas (enlightened beings). Emma-ten is worshiped as the defender of the Buddhist law, a king of the Buddhist hell, and a judge in the world of the dead. Below these imposing figures, in a smaller scale, Emma-o is shown in a different manifestation in the costume of a Chinese official, the customary way in which judges of hell were depicted. Chinese painters who devised the earliest images of this subject envisioned the kings who would judge the merits and sins of the deceased as powerful civil magistrates.

  This painting is a rare surviving example of this complex subject presentation. Notable are the fine, full delineation of figures and complex color technique typical of Buddhist paintings of the late Heian period (794-1185), when members of the imperial court were avid patrons of Buddhism.

• Provenance

  Temple Nishi-muro-in, Koyasan, Japan [1]

  To 1904

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1904 [2]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1904 [3]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See Curatorial Remark 4 in the object record.

  [2] Undated folder sheet note.

  Also see Original Kakemono List, pg. 136, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [3] See note 2.

  [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Journey of Taste: Freer and Japanese Scroll Mounting (April 15, 2023 to March 3, 2024)

  Freer: A Taste for Japanese Art (July 1, 2006 to January 1, 2007)

  Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

  Japanese Art: Painting and Sculpture (July 1, 1966 to May 2, 1973)

  Japanese Art (January 1, 1963 to July 1, 1966)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 1 and 2 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Hanging Scrolls, Ceramics, and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to January 23, 1951)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Ceramics and Painting (May 2, 1946 to October 2, 1947)

  Japanese Paintings Buddhist Etc. (January 5, 1928 to December 8, 1941)

  Japanese Paintings and Sculpture (May 2, 1923 to January 5, 1928)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Nishi-muro-in Temple, Koyasan

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s, 1300s

• Name

  Nishi-muro-in Temple, Koyasan, Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), Art, Japanese Art, Attendant, Kakemono

• Culture

  Buddhists, Wandala (African people), Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings