Pure Land Buddhist Art of Mount Koya

The Pure Land Buddhism of Mount Koya flourished remarkably against the backdrop of the idea of ​​the Latter Days of the Law from the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura period, when faith in Amida and the Pure Land Gokuraku were combined with faith in Kobo Daishi and faith in the Pure Land of Mount Koya.

Many aspirants climbed the mountain in hopes of attaining rebirth in paradise by chanting "Namu Amida Butsu," and Pure Land Buddhism on the mountain flourished.

Along with this, numerous Pure Land Buddhist artworks such as statues of Amida Nyorai, paintings of Amida Raigo, and paintings of the Pure Land were produced as objects of worship, and many high-quality works were brought to the mountain as donations or collections.

Of these, the three scrolls depicting the coming of the holy hordes are said to have been painted by Eshin Sozu (Genshin), a leading proponent of Pure Land Buddhism, based on an experience he had firsthand while on Mount Hiei. The scene of Amida Buddha arriving to welcome the deity accompanied by the holy hordes fills the entire screen, and the majestic composition and solemn depiction make them masterpieces of Heian period painting, or scenes depicting the coming of the holy hordes.

This painting of the Raigo was originally kept in the Imperial Anrakudani Treasure House on Mount Hiei, but was taken away before Nobunaga burned it down in 1571. It was then brought to Mount Koya in 1594, and is highly regarded as an example of religious art.

This illustrated catalog, which has as its theme the Scenery of the Sacred Beings Raigo, includes X-ray and infrared photographs.

X-rays are electromagnetic waves with short wavelengths and strong penetrating power, which can penetrate even materials that do not transmit normal light and expose photographic plates, while infrared rays have longer wavelengths than visible light and are invisible to the naked eye, but have a strong thermal effect and penetrating power, allowing them to capture shapes and differences in materials that are invisible to the naked eye. By utilizing the characteristics of these two types of light, the internal shape of the subject of the Shoju Raigo-zu and the properties of the coloring materials (pigments and dyes) can be imaged on film, allowing the collection of a lot of information that cannot be obtained with normal visible light.

We hope that the publication of these scientific photographs will advance research into the unknown field of Shoju Raigozu.

March 21, 1998, by Koei Yamaguchi, Headmaster of Koyasan Reihokan