Pair of Hanging Scroll Paintings of the Fudōmyōo (Skt.Acala): Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
The 9th Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems Seminar was held on February 28th, 2019. Rei MAIZAWA (Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) gave a presentation entitled “Pair of Hanging Scroll Paintings of the Fudōmyōo (Skt. Acala): Zenrin-ji Temple and Kōki-ji Temple,” and Tetsuei TSUDA (Aoyama Gakuin University) was invited as a commentator.
The presentation was with regard to “Fudōmyōo (Skt. Acala) and Two Attendants” at Zenrin-ji Temple, Kyoto, and “Fudōmyōo (Skt. Acala) and Four Attendants” at Kōki-ji Temple, Osaka. After providing a detailed description of the pair of paintings and the style of painting, Maizawa deduced that they were produced in the late Kamakura Period and the late Nanbokucho Period, respectively. Indicating the similarity between the two paintings in that the Skt. Acala is depicted in the center flanked by two attendants, she went on to explain how the preexisting Skt. Acala image found in Zenrin-ji Temple was most likely used as a reference when producing the rare image of the “Fudōmyōo (Skt. Acala) and Four Attendants.”
The belief in the Skt. Acala, a deity in esoteric Buddhism, was popular in the early Heian Period. Numerous depictions of the Skt. Acala were made in the form of sculptures and paintings. Original Skt. Acala images that did not exist earlier were produced during the Middle Ages in Japan, and “Fudōmyōo (Skt. Acala) and Four Attendants” at Kōki-ji Temple is one of them. A detailed consideration of the pair of images will reveal some insights into the diverse production of Skt. Acala images.
At the seminar, internal and external researchers engaged in a lively discussion on how the Skt. Acala was worshiped, the origin of the pair of images, and what they express.