Detached Segments of Kegon Gojugo-sho Emaki (Scroll of 55 Famous Places Associated with the Avatamsaka Sutra)
Detached Segments of Kegon Gojugo-sho Emaki (Scroll of 55 Famous Places Associated with the Avatamsaka Sutra)
Heian period, 12th century
Color on paper
Height 28.5 / 28.6 cm; Width 25.6 /42.8 cm
(Tokyo National Museum)
This handscroll of which this scene is a part is based on the segment of the Buddhist Avatamsaka Sutra (Kegonkyo) known as the Nyuhokkaibon. It depicts the tale of a child named Zenzai who, in the quest for the way to enlightenment, meets the wisdom-bodhisattva Monju. At Monju's direction, he visits various sages and finally learns the Buddhist Law from the bodhisattva Fugen. The drawing advantageously uses a light and cheerful line, applied with light ink. The coloring is done in moderation, and a reserved and noble pictorial quality emerges. Similar handscrolls on the same theme were very popular during the Kamakura period, and though parts of many of them have been lost or destroyed, many excerpts have found their way down to the present.
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