Karukaya

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Place of production or style: Otogi zōshi illustrated tales
Number of components: Pair of two folding book
Format and materials: Color on paper
Dimensions (in cm): L. 32.2, W. 23.3 (each)
Date of production: Muromachi period 16th century

Presumed to be the oldest extant example of an illustrated narrative of a Buddhist scripture, this is the tale of Karukaya. Feeling the impermanence of the world, Katō Shigeuji leaves his wife and children behind to enter the priesthood, taking the name Karukaya Dōshin. Eventually, the son travels to Mt. Koya to look for his father, but Dōshin sends the boy away without revealing his true identity and moves without his son to Zenkōji Temple in Shinano Province, where he passes into the next life. His son, who has entered the priesthood on Mt. Kōya, breathes his last in the same moment on the same day. The pictures, thought to be by the same hand as the text, are the culmination of naive or innocent art. The viewer cannot but be captivated by the uninhibited yet pious presentation.

Notable Works

Karukaya

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART