Past Exhibitions

Masterworks of Pure Land Buddhist Painting
September 13, 2014 - October 13, 2014

Genshin (942-1017) was a Heian period Tendai-sect Buddhist priest who lived in the Yokawa temple complex on Mt. Hiei, northeast of Kyoto. In the year 985, he wrote The Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land (J: Ōjōyōshū), a guide to attaining salvation in the Pure Land paradise. The book promotes "loathing the defiled realm, and longing for the Pure Land," and it juxtaposes the horrors of the Buddhist hells with the wonders of Buddhist paradise. Genshin's descriptions of these realms influenced the paintings of the day, which in turn expedited the dissemination of Pure Land beliefs into society at large. This exhibition features masterworks of Pure Land painting from Kyoto, which was a fountainhead of Pure Land Buddhist faith. National Treasures include Sakyamuni Rising from the Golden Coffin (KNM), The Six Realms of Birth (Shōjuraigō-ji), and Amida beyond the Mountains (KNM).

Requests to Visitors to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Infection

A Message to Museum Visitors

↑ Back to Top