The is an or (painted narrative handscroll) made in the second half of the 12th century CE, during the Heian period of Japanese history (794–1185). It is an illuminated manuscript detailing miracles attributed to the monk , who lived on Mount Shigi near Nara in Japan in the latter part of the 9th century.
The tales are composed in the genre of , a narrative that chronicles the founding of a Buddhist or Shinto establishment. In the case of the , the establishment is , where used to live. The pictorial style of the work, known as , or "men's pictures", is characterized by active movement, outdoor scenes and a certain feeling of lack of restraint. is part of a broader style of Japanese painting called . The work is a prime example of both Heian period scroll painting and , as most of the early scroll and paintings are now lost.
Background arts
Originating in Japan in the sixth or seventh century through trade with the Chinese Empire, art spread widely among the aristocracy in the Heian period. An consists of one or more long scrolls of paper narrating a story through texts and paintings. The reader discovers the story by progressively unrolling the scroll with one hand while rewinding it with the other hand, from right to left (according to the then horizontal writing direction of Japanese script), so that only a portion of text or image of about is visible.
The narrative assumes a series of scenes, the rhythm, composition and transitions of which are entirely the artist's sensitivity and technique. The themes of the stories were very varied: illustrations of novels, historical chronicles, religious texts, biographies of famous people, humorous or fantastic anecdotes, etc.
The work and its historical sources
The scrolls of the , three in number, each narrate a miraculous story about the life of ,. a Buddhist monk who lived at the end of the 9th century in the temple on Mount Shigi () in the province of Yamato, and was dedicated to the deity (Vaiśravaṇa).
The term "engi" in the title designates a Japanese literary style that transcribes chronicles and legends on the foundation of Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, as well as, by extension, the miracles associated with them. Along with the biographies of high-ranking monks (. or .), this is the main genre of with a religious subject; the genre was produced in large numbers during the Kamakura period (1185–1333), mainly for proselytizing or didactic purposes.
The is nowadays the oldest example of with religious themes that devote a large part of their content to the representation of everyday life and folklore, testifying to an unprecedented interest in painting for children and popular legends. Such interest, however, already existed among the Japanese nobility from at least the end of the 11th century, as evidenced by the literature of the Imperial Court. Indeed, several ancient collections of popular tales, including the , the and the , tell three anecdotes, reminiscent of the subject of the , about a hermit-monk from the Nara period. The surviving texts of the second and third scrolls are very similar to the , suggesting that the author relied mainly on that collection. The mixture of popular and religious themes in the and many later , which give them an authentic and romanticised look, thus ties in with these earlier works.
The life of (who died circa 937–941) is also recorded in a short autobiography dated 937 and several subsequent historical chronicles. These sources relate that he lived for a dozen years on Mount Shigi where a small chapel dedicated to was installed. Several companions joined him, giving growing importance. According to other fictionalised chronicles, would have been instructed in a dream during a retreat at the temple to go to Mount Shigi to settle there, with a purple cloud to guide him.
Description Overview The is made up of three paper scrolls in a horizontal format. On each scroll, calligraphic texts accompany illustrations that have been painted, by hand, using watercolour-like techniques associated with the application of strokes in India ink. The scrolls measure respectively: high by long; high by long; and high by long. Each scroll is assembled from several sheets of paper of similar lengths - approximately long - glued one after the other: 16 sheets for the first scroll, 24 for the second and 26 for the third.
First scroll
The first scroll, commonly titled "The Flying Granary",. consists of a single long painted section, the calligraphic text having disappeared. It narrates the anecdote known as the "flying granary". used to send his bowl by air every day to the nearby village, where a wealthy farmer filled it with rice. One day, however, the farmer refused to take on this task and punished him by causing his entire rice barn to fly away. The scroll thus opens with a scene showing the amazement and dismay of the villagers running after the flying granary. Several landscape scenes follow, in which travellers are astonished at this flying granary while the rich farmer on horseback and four of his people pursue their property.
's home then suddenly appears in a mountain landscape. The monk is seated on his terrace, facing his visitors who then appear. The farmer bows to the monk and it is understood that he begs to give him back his rice. After a new short mountain landscape, we discover and his visitors in front of the rice granary. A servant places a bag of rice in 's bowl, obviously on the order of the latter who explicitly points a finger at the bowl. The rest of the bags then begin to fly away. There follows, as for the flying granary, a long scene of landscapes flown over by sacks of rice, to the village where the little people are busy with their daily occupations - the women cook or collect fruit, a child and an old man are reading. Finally, a short landscape concludes the painting and the first scroll.
Second scroll
The anecdote narrated in the second scroll, "The Exorcism of the Emperor of the Engi Era",. relates to the miraculous healing of the reigning Emperor Daigo by the prayers of . The scroll consists of two portions of calligraphic text and two long painted sections. After the introductory text, the first painting opens at the great door of the original imperial palace of (present-day Kyoto) in front of which an imperial delegation is preparing to leave, while priests arrive to pray for the ailing Emperor. Several sequences illustrate the delegation's journey through various landscapes, a village and mist. After finally arriving at Mount Shigi, the messenger of the delegation and are conversing, seated on a veranda, while the other travellers wait below. Following a scene of a new mountain landscape, the delegation is depicted returning to , the Emperor's private quarters, apparently bringing back a message from . The palace wall completes the first painting.
The second calligraphed section reveals that , despite insistent requests of His Imperial Majesty, has refused to go in person to the palace, and has promised to heal the Emperor from his home.. The second painting opens with a view of the Emperor seated in his quarters. Outside, a long landscape shows . flying over fields and farms to the palace, the wheel of dharma rolling in front of him. The deity, sent by , has the mission of answering the prayers of the Buddhist monk by healing the Emperor. Following a short landscape, the painting shows the imperial delegation again on their way through plains, mists and mountains. The messenger thanks in person, and then the painting ends with a landscape lost in the mist.
Third scroll
The third scroll, "The Story of the Nun",The . recounts the adventures of a nun, 's older sister, in search of her brother whom she has not seen for twenty years. It consists of two calligraphed sections and two painted sections. After the introductory calligraphed text, the first painting opens with a mountain landscape in which an old nun and two men walk. Then the nun, who has arrived at a village, is shown sitting under the porch of a chapel while the villagers bring her food. There follows a new scene of landscape and mist, then the nun, having passed a small shrine, asks an old peasant for information about her brother. Behind them are the farm and three busy women, one in the garden and two washing the laundry. We then discover the nun sitting on the doorstep of the farm, chatting with a young woman who spins wool. We also see through the windows a woman and children scrutinizing the travellers with curiosity, as well as a man rebuffing two dogs barking outside. A new landscape again shows the nun travelling, fallow deer indicating that she is in the Nara region. Then the nun, following her arrival at the temple, is painted praying in front of the monumental statue. The nun is shown several times (a technique of representation of time passing) in the scene at the foot of the monumental statue, praying, sleeping or meditating. The temple disappears in the mist, then a landscape scene follows, completing the painting.
The second calligraphed section relates that the appeared in the nun's dreams to guide her to her brother. In the second painting, looks outward as if someone has called him; in front of him stands his sister. There follows a landscape where a purple cloud appears in the air, an omen indicating that the nun was guided to Mount Shigi by this cloud. The nun then settles down with her brother, and the last scene paints the two protagonists in different activities, such as praying, reading sutras or preparing religious rituals. A mountain landscape closes the painting, in which the roof of the flying granary of the first scroll can be seen.
Dating, author and sponsor
The exact date of creation of the scrolls is not known. Art historians commonly date the work as being from the middle or second half of the 12th century (the end of the Heian period), probably between 1157 and 1180, but without certainty. This estimate is based on the dating of architectural details reproduced in the work. Thus, the , the personal diary of , (), the personal diary of (1142 – 1200). an aristocrat of the Imperial Court, evokes arrangements around the palace, reproduced in the second scroll, which are subsequent to the beginning of the Hōgen era (1156–1159), hence the date of manufacture of the scrolls was probably after the beginning of this era. As for 1180, this was the year when the original statue of the Great Buddha of , which is depicted in the third scroll, was destroyed by fire, indicating that the work is probably prior to that date. The style of calligraphy is also close to those in vogue during the last quarter of the 12th century. Although that date remains approximate, it nevertheless makes the one of the oldest preserved today.
The author and the sponsor are not better known. The making of is a highly collaborative process that requires the participation of calligraphers for text, painters gathered in the workshop, editors, and possibly the participation of publishers or a sponsor for the choice of texts and paintings to be executed. The work has traditionally been attributed to , also known as , monk and painter. However, that allocation has been refuted, as died in 1140 while the scrolls are consensually dated by art historians as being from the second half of the 12th century This traditional attribution made him the son of Minamoto no Takakuni, credited with compiling the Konjaku Monogatarishū, a collection that itself contains a similar anecdote about the monk's pilgrimage through the provinces of Japan until a mysterious cloud guided him to Mount Shigi.