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Prince Shotoku (Shotoku Taishi) and attendants

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At A Glance

Period

13th century
Geography

Japan
Material

Ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimension

H x W (image): 110.3 × 73.1 cm (43 7/16 × 28 13/16 in)
Accession Number

F2001.1a-f
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F2001.1a-f

Object Details

Description

The sixteen-year-old prince is adorned in a kesa (Buddhist vestment) and carries an incense burner. He is flanked by two attendants; one bears a rolled sutra scroll encased in a vertical holder and the other holds the portable canopy that protects the prince.
Inscriptions

1. (James T. Ulak, 13 April 2001) In the upper right and left corners of the painting are twelve lines of calligraphy, mainly descriptive of the image. They include, at the left, a partially legible line reading "the eleventh month, twenty-third day" and a line of script indicating that the painting was solicited as a commission from a temple, although the temple name has been obliterated.
Label

Prince Shotoku (574–622) was a Japanese leader renowned for his efforts at national unification as well as for sponsoring the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. In the centuries after his death, a strong cult following produced important religious devotional images in both painting and sculptural formats. The sixteen-year-old prince, bearing an incense burner and garbed in Buddhist vestments, is flanked by two attendants; one carries a rolled sutra. Enveloped in these symbols of ascendant Buddhist power, the young prince pays respect to his dying father, Emperor Yomei (reigned 585–87). Here the new order is represented by a self-possessed young prince, who nevertheless honors his origins. This image of the prince is considered the most important example of its kind in a Western collection.
Provenance

Baron Kuki Ryuichi (1852-1931), Japan [1]

To 2001

Takashi Yanagi, Kyoto, to 2001

From 2001

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Takashi Yanagi in 2001

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 2, James T. Ulak, April 13, 2001, in the object record.
Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History

Words of Wisdom: Buddhist Calligraphy from Japan (April 1, 2023 to February 25, 2024)

Spreading the Word (May 18 to November 12, 2018)

Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006)

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

Honoring Friends: Recent Gifts by Members of the Freer and Sackler Galleries (June 10 to November 25, 2001)

Shotoku Taishi Shinko no Bijutsu (Art of the Prince Shotoku Faith) (1999)
Previous custodian or owner

Baron Kuki Ryuichi 九鬼隆一 (1852-1931)

Takashi Yanagi
Origin

Japan
Credit Line

Purchase — funds provided by the Parnassus Foundation, courtesy of Jane and Raphael Bernstein; Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Pearl; Jeffrey P. Cunard; and the Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Type

Painting
Restrictions and Rights

Usage Conditions Apply

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