Amida Nijugobosatsu Raigo-zu

14th century

In this recently conserved painting, Amida Buddha is descending on clouds from his Pure Land Western Paradise in the company of twenty-five Bodhisattvas. They are on their way to accompany a deceased devotee to the paradise. Gold lights emitting from the Amida’s forehead connect to the devotee’s house, which is depicted in the bottom right, and bodhisattva Kannon in the forefront of the assembly kneels to offer the lotus to the devotee. Other bodhisattvas are playing musical instruments and dancing to welcome the devotee.

Ink, color, gold on silk

Image: 47 1/2 × 34 1/16 in. (120.7 × 86.5 cm)

Overall: 87 13/16 × 41 15/16 in. (223 × 106.5 cm); with knobs: 87 13/16 × 43 7/16 in. (223 × 110.3 cm)

Diameter (Diameter roller): 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

34.117

Provenance: Dr. Fuller purchased from Yamanaka & Co., Osaka, Japan; donated to Seattle Art Museum, 1934

Photo: Scott Leen

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Asia Society, Kamakura: Reality and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan, Feb. 9 - May 8, 2016. Text by Ive Covaci. Cat. no. 26, p. 104, reproduced p. 105.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Aug. 12, 2022 - Jan. 8, 2023].

Published ReferencesFuller, Richard E. Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1946, p. 19

Fuller, Richard E., Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 84

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