Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi

Japan

Not on view

This embroidered scroll shows the Buddha Amida at center with attendant bodhisattvas descending to the earth on clouds to greet a person at the time of death. Kannon, at lower right, extends a small lotus pedestal, upon which the dead will travel to Amida’s Western Pure Land, a place free of suffering and pain. These hopeful images, whose makers often incorporated their own hair into the embroidery, were used in widely practiced deathbed rituals.

Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan

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Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan
Welcoming Descent of Amida, the Buddha of Limitless Light, with Bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, Framed panel; embroidered silk and possibly human hair, Japan

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