Illustrated biography of the monk Ippen

In 1299, only a decade after his death, the life of the charismatic mendicant Ippen (1239-1299) was celebrated in a massive and lavishly produced set of twelve horizontal silk scrolls. A testimony to Ippen's popularity, this was to be the most extensive and brilliantly executed visual biography of any Japanese religious leader.

Ippen and his disciples traversed eastern and central Japan endorsing the devotional prayer form of odori nembutsu, a dance that involved rhythmic, repeated invocations of the Amida Buddha. This simple prayer was said to guarantee salvation. The painting seen here is a fragment from a later edition of the Ippen biography, dating from about a century after Ippen's death. Produced on paper and less elaborate than the original, this work testifies to the sustained appeal of the master's simple teachings.

The narrative scroll was a format frequently used to describe the lives of spiritual leaders or the foundation of religious movements and famous temples. As a detailed record of daily life in early medieval Japan these paintings are invaluable social documents.