Shaka (Shakyamuni), the Historical Buddha, with Two Attendant Bodhisattvas and Sixteen Arhats

14th century

Not on view

This scroll depicts the Buddha on a bank of swirling clouds at upper center, preaching to a varied group of figures at Vulture Peak. He is flanked by attendant bodhisattvas: Fugen, at right riding a white elephant, and Monju, at left on a blue lion. Below this heavenly triad are sixteen arhats (rakan), enlightened ascetic followers of the Buddha, who engage in a diversity of activities in a landscape of jagged rocks, caverns, and rushing waterfalls. Joining them are two historical figures, both crucial to the development of Japanese Buddhism: at left in a red robe is Shōtoku Taishi (574–622), an imperial prince and early patron of Buddhism, and at right the monk Kūkai (774–835), founder of the Shingon sect of Esoteric Buddhism.

Artwork Details

釈迦三尊十六羅漢像
Title: Shaka (Shakyamuni), the Historical Buddha, with Two Attendant Bodhisattvas and Sixteen Arhats
Period: Kamakura (1185–1333)–Nanbokuchō (1336–92) period
Date: 14th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimensions: Image: 56 1/8 × 29 13/16 in. (142.5 × 75.7 cm)
Overall with mounting: 96 7/16 × 39 1/8 in. (245 × 99.3 cm)
Overall with knobs: 96 7/16 × 42 3/8 in. (245 × 107.6 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Object Number: 2015.300.1
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

In the same medium

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

The Four Deities of Mount Kōya, Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on silk, Japan — The Four Deities of Mount Kōya
Japan
16th century

Woman in a Black Kimono, Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan — Woman in a Black Kimono
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
1783–89

Portrait of Shun'oku Myōha, Unidentified artist Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan — Portrait of Shun'oku Myōha
Unidentified artist
ca. 1383

The Wisdom King Aizen (Aizen Myōō), Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and cut gold leaf (kirikane) on silk, Japan — The Wisdom King Aizen (Aizen Myōō)
Japan
14th century

Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses, Kaihō Yūsetsu Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan — Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses
Kaihō Yūsetsu
mid-17th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.