Important Cultural Property
The Patriarchs of Buddhism
Data
| Artist | By Joen |
|---|---|
| Period | Heian period, dated 1154 |
| Materials and techniques | Handscroll, ink on paper |
| Size | 29.9×1067.9 |
Explanation
This shows part of a scroll from the “Patriarchs of Buddhism”, which contains the diagrammatic pictures from Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, to Huineng, his 33rd successor, and the Ten Wise Men together with their simple biographies written below. The original diagram of “Patriarchs of Buddhism” was founded in 1061 and was inscribed on a stone epitaph in the Wanshou Zen temple in Suzhou, China. There is a succession chart at the end of this volume and thus it is likely that this scroll was produced based on a rubbing taken from the stone epitaph. A colophon states “handwritten by Jō-en at the library of a Zen temple, July 13th 1154” thus indicating the writer and date. Formerly owned by Tōji Temple, Kyoto.