Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas

Japan

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 224

When a resident of Edo (now Tokyo) passed away in 1668, her husband, Oikawa Zen’emon, commissioned this scroll to commemorate her death. On the front, Amida and his holy retinue descend from heaven to meet Mrs. Oikawa, who is depicted in the lower right corner wearing a red robe. The bodhisattva Kannon extends a small lotus pedestal that will deliver her to Amida’s paradise, the Western Pure Land. An inscription on the back describes miraculous events at the time of the funeral. Mrs. Oikawa’s cremated remains are stored in the knobs of the scroll’s metal roller, which were designed with small windows allowing visual access to her relics.

On view for rotations 1 and 2

Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan

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Painting

Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida Buddha and Twenty-five Bodhisattvas, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan

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