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Taima Temple Mandala: Amida Welcomes Chûjôhime to the Western Paradise
Artist Unknown, JapanJapan, Muromachi Period (1333-1573)
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Ann Arbor, United States
Details
- Title: Taima Temple Mandala: Amida Welcomes Chûjôhime to the Western Paradise
- Creator: Artist Unknown, Japan
- Date Created: Japan, Muromachi Period (1333-1573)
- Location: Japan
- Physical Dimensions: w109.06 x h151.45 mm (image)
- Label Copy: A mandala is a magical diagram of the cosmos made for ritual purposes. In Japan, this concept was adapted to include topographical views of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines as a way to visually sanctify the landscape. Temple and shrine mandalas were painted on large cloths and used as teaching and fundraising tools by itinerant monks and nuns, especially in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries. This is one such painting. The layout of the buildings and the surrounding hills identifies this picture as a view of the compound and environs of Taima Temple, which lies at the foot of Nijô Mountain, southeast of modern Osaka. What distinguishes this work from others of its type is the addition of a narrative uniting the temple’s principal deity and most famous resident: the Buddha Amida descends from heaven to welcome the young nun Chûjôhime to paradise. Chûjôhime’s salvation is witnessed by a gathering of nuns and laymen in contemporary (sixteenth-century) costume—and, by implication, all viewers of the painting.
- Type: Painting
- External Link: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2002-sl-1.169/2002_1.169.JPG?lasttype=boolean;lastview=thumbnail;resnum=1;sel9=ic_exact;size=20;sort=relevance;start=1;subview=detail;view=entry;rgn1=musart_an;select1=starts;q1=2002%2F1.169
- Medium: hanging scroll, ink, color and gold on silk
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