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Photo: Susan A. Cole
Illustrated Legend of the Hasedera
Photo: Susan A. Cole

Illustrated Legend of the Hasedera

Date16th century
Label TextThis long handscroll illustrates the miraculous origin of the Hasedera temple in Nara, Japan’s capital in the 8th century. The temple was known as a sacred site for worshipping Kannon, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Following Japanese narrative handscrolls’ typical format, text and image alternate as the story unfolds.
Object number57.15.1
Photo CreditPhoto: Susan A. Cole
Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum. Nov. 3 - 28, 1965. Cat. no. 122 [only one of 57.15 included]. Tokyo, Japan, Suntory Museum of Art, Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum, July 25 - Sept. 6, 2009 (Kobe, Japan, Kobe City Museum, Sept. 19 - Dec. 6, 2009; Kofu, Japan, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Dec. 23, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010; Atami, Japan, MOA Museum of Art, Mar. 13 - May 9, 2010; Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Art Museum, May 23 - July 19, 2010). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Feb. 8, 2020 - Nov. 28, 2021].Published ReferencesFuller, 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. 88a-c. "Gift to a City" exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 122. (only one of 57.15 included--section depicting haunted log of camphor wood being moved with assistance of Shinto divinities and Buddhist attendants) Kawai, Masatomo, Yasuhiro Nishioka, Yukiko Sirahara, editors, "Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum." 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun, catalogue number 28. Suzuki, Yiu. "Twanging Bows and Throwing Rice: Warding Off Evil in Medieval Japanese Birthing Scenes." Artibus Asiae, vol. 74, no. 1 (2014): reproduced fig. 4.
Credit LineMargaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund
Dimensions602 3/8 x 12 1/8in. (1530.1 x 30.8cm)
MediumVolume of handscrolls: ink and color on paper