The Song (960–1279) and the Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties have come to exemplify a distinct set of values that have maintained special significance in Japan since medieval times.
From the late Heian (794–1185) through the Kamakura (1185–1333) periods, numerous artworks were brought into Japan directly from Song and Yuan China through both official and private channels. Even after both dynasties had fallen, during Japan’s Muromachi period (1392–1573), the Japanese continued to favor imported objects from those eras. In fact, among the many karamono (“Chinese things”) valued in Japan, objects dating from the Song and Yuan dynasties have always enjoyed a singular level of reverence.
The best example of this esteem is the Ashikaga shogunate’s celebrated collection of karamono, known as the Higashiyama gomotsu (Higashiyama Treasures), which has been carefully preserved and highly valued through the centuries.
This chapter introduces aspects of Song and Yuan culture that were long admired and idealized in Japan. These will serve as an entry point to our understanding of Song and Yuan Buddhist paintings.

National Treasure
Autumn and Winter Landscapes
Attributed to Emperor Huizong
Konchi-in Temple, Kyoto
[on view: September 20–October 19, 2025]

Why have so many Song and Yuan Buddhist paintings survived in Japan? The Japanese have long been devout followers of Buddhism and, since ancient times, have looked to China——considered the leading center of Buddhist learning——for spiritual authority and models of practice. Time and again, Japanese monks crossed the sea to seek Buddhist teachings on the continent. Such clerics undertook pilgrimages to Song and Yuan, visited sacred sites and major temples, and studied under prominent local Buddhist masters to learn the most up-to-date forms of Buddhism.
Alongside the teachings they received, they brought back to Japan a wealth of Buddhist cultural materials——not only paintings, but also sculptures, scriptures, monastic codes of conduct (shingi), and ritual and daily implements (shigu) used in temple life. These items were carefully preserved and passed down through generations.
This chapter explores the Buddhist cultural exchange forged through the intentions and actions of these dharma seekers. In particular, it highlights portraits of Chinese high priests, known as chinsō, brought back as tangible proof of the unbroken transmission of teachings from teacher to disciple.

National Treasure
Portrait of Wuzhun Shifan
Inscription by Wuzhun Shifan
Tōfuku-ji Temple, Kyoto
[on view: October 21–November 16, 2025]

After the fall of the Tang dynasty (618–907), China was once again unified under the Song dynasty in 960. The period dating from its founding up to the Jingkang Incident of 1127 is known as the Northern Song (960–1127); the period after the capital was relocated to southern China is referred to as the Southern Song (1127–1279).
A defining feature of the Song dynasty was the full institutionalization of the civil service examination system (keju), which gave rise to a class of scholar-officials (shidafu) who shaped society and fostered a vibrant intellectual culture. Painting also reached a high level of refinement during this period, especially within the imperial court. Such developments are also reflected in the Buddhist imagery of the time.
The region around the Southern Song capital of Lin’an (present-day Hangzhou in Zhejiang province) had deep Buddhist traditions and was home to sacred mountains such as Tiantai, Ayuwang, and Putuo. The nearby port city of Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo) emerged as a flourishing center for Buddhist painting, producing works for religious use in local communities.
This chapter examines how the Buddhist paintings that survive in Japan were originally created, as understood through the cultural and historical context of the Song dynasty.

National Treasure
Amituo (Amitābha) Buddha Triad
By Puyue
Shōjōke-in Temple, Kyoto
[on view: October 21–November 16, 2025]

One of the major turning points in Japanese Buddhism was the introduction of fully developed Zen (Ch: Chan) Buddhism from Southern Song during Japan’s Kamakura period (1185–1333). Along with the dharma teachings came the Chinese tradition of ink painting, which deeply influenced Japanese art.
Muqi (also Muxi, n.d.), a Zen monk active in the late Southern Song and early Yuan dynasties, was a consummate master of this monochromatic medium who can rightly be called the most beloved Chinese painter in Japan. The fact that he was a disciple of Wuzhun Shifan (1177–1249), then the preeminent Chinese master of the Linji (J: Rinzai) lineage, was another key reason for his acceptance in Japan.
Muqi’s works, characterized by succinct, spontaneous brushwork and skillfully wielded pale ink tones, exemplify the kind of ink painting prevalent in Chinese Zen monasteries at the time.
This chapter, featuring Muqi’s iconic triptych Guanyin, Gibbons, and Crane, explores the diversity and expressive depth of Zen Buddhist painting during the Song and Yuan dynasties.

National Treasure
Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara), Gibbons, and Crane
By Muqi
Daitoku-ji Temple, Kyoto
[on view: October 21–November 16, 2025]

In 918, the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) was established on the Korean Peninsula and developed into a nation of deep Buddhist devotion. Goryeo’s long history overlapped with the rise and fall of China’s Song and Yuan dynasties, and its cultural exchanges with both had a significant impact on the production of Buddhist paintings in Korea.
Some Goryeo Buddhist paintings reflect a continuation of Northern Song (960–1127) pictorial traditions, while others share stylistic features with Yuan works. From the medieval era onward, Goryeo Buddhist paintings brought by ship to Japan came to be categorized as kara-e (“Chinese paintings”), so their place of origin was often misunderstood. Scholarship on these works in recent years has begun to clarify the distinct characteristics of these Korean masterworks.
This chapter presents a selection of Goryeo Buddhist paintings and explores their relationship to Song and Yuan artistic traditions. In doing so, it reveals the refined and distinctive aesthetic that defines the Goryeo style.

Important Cultural Property
Transformation Tableau of the Descent of Mile (Maitreya) Bodhisattva
By Yi Seong
Myōman-ji Temple, Kyoto
[on view: September 20–October 19, 2025]

The Buddhist art brought to Japan from China was not limited to paintings. Sculptures, which were much more difficult to transport, were also brought by ship from the continent. That said, Japanese sculptors seeking to create Buddhist images in the Chinese style relied not only upon actual Chinese statues for reference but also learned from iconographic drawings and paintings.
In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), some of the returning monks who had studied in Song went on to oversee the construction of Japanese temple complexes in the Chinese style. These temples housed sculptures brought over from the continent. Such imported Song statues in turn inspired the creation of distinctive Japanese images with exotic features.
This section introduces examples of Chinese influence on Japanese Buddhist sculpture, including renditions of Amitābha Buddha with reverse mudras, left hand raised and right hand lowered (J: sakate no Amida), icons believed to embody living incarnations of deities (J: shōjinsei), and statues containing relic deposits or representations of internal organs. These are all qualities that reflect sculptural trends in the Song dynasty.

Important Cultural Property
Seated Wish-Fulfilling Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva
Tōgen-ji Temple, Kyoto

In China, Daoism, like Buddhism, has a long history and a broad base of popular devotion. Buddhist and Daoist paintings from the Song and Yuan dynasties often reflect characteristics of both traditions, resulting in syncretic works that blend iconographic elements.
Examples include Water-Land (shuilu) paintings, which summon a wide array of deities; Ten Kings paintings, which incorporate Daoist views of the afterlife and judgment; and portraits of immortals, which are closely related to images of Zen patriarchs. These artworks embody intersections between Daoist and Buddhist visual culture.
Manichaean icons, created using Buddhist imagery to aid in the religion’s propagation in China, also survive from the Song and Yuan dynasties. To the untrained eye, they appear indistinguishable from Buddhist paintings——a visual resemblance that allowed them to be preserved over time.
This chapter explores the iconographic exchanges between Buddhism and other religious traditions at its margins, illuminating the diverse and layered nature of Song and Yuan Buddhist painting.

The Birth of Mani
Kyushu National Museum
[on view: September 20–October 19, 2025]

Sutras——considered the very words of the Buddha——have long held a place of utmost importance among Buddhist artifacts. Though primarily textual, many sutra handscrolls feature illustrations on the frontispieces located inside of their front covers. Such paintings might depict Buddhas, bodhisattvas, or scenes from the scriptural text itself.
In addition to hand-copied manuscripts, sutras were also produced in woodblock-printed editions. These were developed and widely distributed during the Song dynasty; they often included frontispieces and inset illustrations.
Such illustrations within scriptures constitute a significant category of Buddhist images. Unlike one-of-a-kind Buddhist paintings, they might be disseminated to broader audiences along with the texts they accompany.
This section presents and compares illustrated sutras from the Song, Yuan, and Goryeo dynasties. We explore how the tradition of decorating sacred manuscripts developed across East Asia and how it relates to the broader category of Buddhist painting.

Flower Garland Sutra
Kyoto National Museum

Song and Yuan Buddhist paintings served a range of functions in Japan: as principal icons for worship, as adornments of ritual spaces, and as hanging scrolls conveying the spiritual ethos of Zen. Many of these imported masterworks were treated as canonical iconography and were repeatedly reproduced by Japanese artists.
Among the Song and Yuan works that became especially influential as models were portraits of Daoist and Buddhist figures and Zen monastic ink paintings. These compositions offered greater freedom in brushwork and subject matter than formal devotional images, providing fertile ground for creative innovation. The expressive styles of Song and Yuan painters such as Liang Kai, Muqi, and Yan Hui were eventually codified and widely emulated as distinct pictorial modes.
This final chapter of the exhibition considers how Song and Yuan Buddhist painting became a vital source for the development and refinement of Japanese art.

Important Cultural Property
Gibbons on Weathered Trees
By Hasegawa Tōhaku
Ryōsen-an Temple, Kyoto
[on view: October 21–November 16, 2025]