Welcoming Descent of the Bodhisattva Miroku, Buddha of the Future
Inscription traditionally attributed to Emperor Fushimi Japanese
Not on view
In the 1300s in Japan, most people believed they lived in the End Times (mappō), during which Buddhist teachings could not be taught or heard, and calamities were more severe and frequent. This image shows the widely worshipped deity Miroku, a benevolent bodhisattva, who, according to scripture, resides in the same cosmic realm from which the historical Buddha came to this world. One day Miroku will be reborn here as the next Buddha, bringing about an age of spiritual renewal.
For this image of Miroku, the painter used the most brilliant, and costly, materials available: green malachite, blue azurite, and multiple types of gold on finest silk. To describe the robes and halo, he applied countless impossibly tiny strips of cut gold leaf, a technique called kirikane that is a hallmark of Japanese Buddhist paintings of this period.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
