Welcoming Descent of Amitabha (Amida), Avalokiteshvara (Kannon), and Mahasthamaprapta (Seishi)

Object Details

• Description

  Painted in colors and gold with kirigane (cut gold leaf). No signature or seal. Silk panel.

• Label

  Japanese belief in salvation by the Buddha of Infinite Light, known in Japanese as Amida, expanded during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) through the teachings of evangelistic monks. Paintings like this one illustrate the descent of the Buddha Amida, accompanied by two attendant bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) known in Japanese as Kannon and Seishi. Such images were often brought by Buddhist priests to the home of a dying believer and displayed to provide a beautiful and reassuring image of the Buddha Amida's descent to earth to carry the soul back to the Pure Land. In that paradise, the soul would be free from endless cycles of birth, suffering, and rebirth. A golden lotus to receive the soul immediately after death is held in the hands of the bodhisattva Kannon. Clouds support the deities as they descend toward earth on their journey from the Pure Land.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Power of Words in an Age of Crisis (October 14, 2017 to May 6, 2018)

  In the Shadow of an Apocalypse (October 14, 2017 to October 28, 2018)

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

  Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)

  Japanese Art (March 12, 1982 to November 3, 1986)

  Japanese Art (June 16, 1982 to September 28, 1982)

  Japanese Art (July 14, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Japanese Art (April 11, 1978 to March 6, 1981)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• 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.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1300s

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Pure Land, Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), Art, Kannon, Amitabha Buddha, Japanese Art, Reincarnation, Kakemono, Seishi

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings