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Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry

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The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry ( 三十六歌仙 , Sanjūrokkasen ) are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka , Nara , and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability . The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets' works is Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu ("Nishi Honganji 36 poets collection") of 1113. Similar groups of Japanese poets include the Kamakura period Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen ( 女房三十六歌仙 ) , composed by court ladies exclusively, and the Chūko Sanjūrokkasen ( 中古三十六歌仙 ) , or Thirty-Six Heian-era Immortals of Poetry, selected by Fujiwara no Norikane  [ ja ] (1107–1165). This list superseded an older group called the Six Immortals of Poetry .

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117-551: Sets of portraits (essentially imaginary) of the group were popular in Japanese painting and later woodblock prints , and often hung in temples. Main article ↗︎ Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen ( 女房三十六歌仙 ) , composed in the Kamakura period, refers to thirty-six female immortals of poetry: There are at least two groups of Japanese poets called New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry ( 新三十六歌仙 , Shinsanjūrokkasen ) : The term usually refers to

234-411: A Buddha after his resolution ( praṇidhāna ) in front of a past Buddha. During the first incalculable aeon he is said to have encountered and served 75,000 Buddhas, and 76,000 in the second, after which he received his first prediction ( vyākaraṇa ) of future Buddhahood from Dīpankara , meaning that he could no longer fall back from the path to Buddhahood. For Sarvāstivāda, the first two incalculable aeons

351-581: A being has entered the path by giving rise to bodhicitta, they must make effort in the practice or conduct ( caryā ) of the bodhisattvas, which includes all the duties, virtues and practices that bodhisattvas must accomplish to attain Buddhahood. An important early Mahayana source for the practice of the bodhisattva is the Bodhisattvapiṭaka sūtra, a major sutra found in the Mahāratnakūṭa collection which

468-513: A bodhisattva, as one edict states that he "set out for sambodhi." By the time that the Buddhist tradition had developed into various competing sects, the idea of the bodhisattva vehicle (Sanskrit: bodhisattvayana ) as a distinct (and superior) path from that of the arhat and solitary buddha was widespread among all the major non-Mahayana Buddhist traditions or Nikaya schools , including Theravāda , Sarvāstivāda and Mahāsāṃghika . The doctrine

585-451: A bodhisattva- mahāsattva is so called." Mahayana sutras also depict the bodhisattva as a being which, because they want to reach Buddhahood for the sake of all beings, is more loving and compassionate than the sravaka (who only wishes to end their own suffering). Thus, another major difference between the bodhisattva and the arhat is that the bodhisattva practices the path for the good of others ( par-ārtha ), due to their bodhicitta , while

702-457: A bold, and lavishly decorative format. Sōtatsu in particular evolved a decorative style by re-creating themes from classical literature, using brilliantly colored figures and motifs from the natural world set against gold-leaf backgrounds. A century later, Korin reworked Sōtatsu's style and created visually gorgeous works uniquely his own. Another important genre which began during Azuchi–Momoyama period, but which reached its full development during

819-604: A collection of texts on bodhisattvas alongside the Tripitaka , which they termed "Bodhisattva Piṭaka" or "Vaipulya (Extensive) Piṭaka". None of these have survived. Dar Hayal attributes the historical development of the bodhisattva ideal to "the growth of bhakti (devotion, faith, love) and the idealisation and spiritualisation of the Buddha." The North Indian Sarvāstivāda school held it took Gautama three "incalculable aeons" ( asaṃkhyeyas ) and ninety one aeons ( kalpas ) to become

936-482: A commentary on the Cariyāpiṭaka , a text which focuses on the bodhisattva path and on the ten perfections of a bodhisatta. Dhammapāla 's commentary notes that to become a bodhisattva one must make a valid resolution in front of a living Buddha. The Buddha then must provide a prediction ( vyākaraṇa ) which confirms that one is irreversible ( anivattana ) from the attainment of Buddhahood. The Nidānakathā , as well as

1053-622: A continuing landscape through the four seasons. In the late Muromachi period, ink painting had migrated out of the Zen monasteries into the art world in general, as artists from the Kanō school and the Ami school ( ja:阿弥派 ) adopted the style and themes, but introducing a more plastic and decorative effect that would continue into modern times. Important artists in the Muromachi period Japan include: In sharp contrast to

1170-470: A formula for the creation of monumental landscapes on the sliding doors enclosing a room. These huge screens and wall paintings were commissioned to decorate the castles and palaces of the military nobility. Most notably, Nobunaga had a massive castle built between 1576 and 1579 which proved to be one of the biggest artistic challenges for Kanō Eitoku. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, also constructed several castles during this period. These castles were some of

1287-582: A hundred thousand, shorter kalpas (aeons) to reach Buddhahood. Several sources in the Pali Canon depict the idea that there are multiple Buddhas and that there will be many future Buddhas, all of which must train as bodhisattas. Non-canonical Theravada Jataka literature also teaches about bodhisattvas and the bodhisattva path. The worship of bodhisattvas like Metteya , Saman and Natha ( Avalokiteśvara ) can also be found in Theravada Buddhism. By

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1404-419: A level of dispassion at the time of Buddha Dīpaṃkara many aeons ago and he is also said to have attained the perfection of wisdom countless aeons ago. The Mahāvastu also presents four stages or courses ( caryās) of the bodhisattva path without giving specific time frames (though it's said to take various incalculable aeons ). This set of four phases of the path is also found in other sources, including

1521-487: A major role in the formation of yamato-e painting style. With the rising importance of Pure Land sects of Japanese Buddhism in the 10th century, new image-types were developed to satisfy the devotional needs of these sects. These include raigōzu ( 来迎図 ) , which depict Amida Buddha along with attendant bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi arriving to welcome the souls of the faithful departed to Amida's Western Paradise. A noted early example dating from 1053 are painted on

1638-635: A number of contemporary painters in Japan whose work is largely inspired by anime sub-cultures and other aspects of popular and youth culture. Takashi Murakami is perhaps among the most famous and popular of these, along with and the other artists in his Kaikai Kiki studio collective. His work centers on expressing issues and concerns of postwar Japanese society through what are usually seemingly innocuous forms. He draws heavily from anime and related styles, but produces paintings and sculptures in media more traditionally associated with fine arts, intentionally blurring

1755-559: A renewed interest in western art. In 1907, with the establishment of the Bunten under the aegis of the Ministry of Education , both competing groups found mutual recognition and co-existence, and even began the process towards mutual synthesis. The Taishō period saw the predominance of Yōga over Nihonga . After long stays in Europe, many artists (including Arishima Ikuma) returned to Japan under

1872-422: A similar setting. This period began the unification of "warring" leaders under a central government. The initial dating for this period is often believed to be 1568 when Nobunaga entered Kyoto or 1573 when the last Ashikaga Shogun was removed from Kyoto. The Kanō school, patronized by Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and their followers, gained tremendously in size and prestige. Kanō Eitoku developed

1989-485: A spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings . Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion ( mahākaruṇā ). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" ( brahmavihāras ) of loving-kindness ( maitrī ), compassion ( karuṇā ), empathetic joy ( muditā ) and equanimity ( upekṣā ), as well as

2106-478: Is a period of time in which a bodhisattva may still fall away and regress from the path. At the end of the second incalculable aeon, they encounter a buddha and receive their prediction, at which point they are certain to achieve Buddhahood. Thus, the presence of a living Buddha is also necessary for Sarvāstivāda . The Mahāvibhāṣā explains that its discussion of the bodhisattva path is partly meant "to stop those who are in fact not bodhisattvas from giving rise to

2223-475: Is based principally upon the path of a bodhisattva. This path was seen as higher and nobler than becoming an arhat or a solitary Buddha . Hayal notes that Sanskrit sources generally depict the bodhisattva path as reaching a higher goal (i.e. anuttara-samyak-sambodhi ) than the goal of the path of the "disciples" ( śrāvakas ), which is the nirvana attained by arhats. For example, the Lotus Sutra states: "To

2340-688: Is found, for example, in 2nd century CE sources like the Avadānaśataka and the Divyāvadāna. The bodhisattvayana was referred by other names such as "vehicle of the perfections" ( pāramitāyāna ), "bodhisatva dharma", "bodhisatva training", and "vehicle of perfect Buddhahood". According to various sources, some of the Nikaya schools (such as the Dharmaguptaka and some of the Mahasamghika sects) transmitted

2457-472: Is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood . In the Early Buddhist schools , as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism , bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. In Mahāyāna Buddhism , a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated bodhicitta ,

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2574-463: Is only one vehicle, the ekayana , which ends in Buddhahood. Classical Indian mahayanists held that the only sutras which teach the bodhisattva vehicle are the Mahayana sutras . Thus, Nagarjuna writes "the subjects based on the deeds of Bodhisattvas were not mentioned in [non-Mahāyāna] sūtras." They also held that the bodhisattva path was superior to the śrāvaka vehicle and so the bodhisattva vehicle

2691-516: Is termed bodhicitta (the mind set on awakening). The bodhisattva doctrine went through a significant transformation during the development of Buddhist tantra, also known as Vajrayana . This movement developed new ideas and texts which introduced new bodhisattvas and re-interpreted old ones in new forms, developed in elaborate mandalas for them and introduced new practices which made use of mantras , mudras and other tantric elements. According to David Drewes, "Mahayana sutras unanimously depict

2808-446: Is the "great vehicle" (mahayana) due to its greater aspiration to save others, while the śrāvaka vehicle is the "small" or "inferior" vehicle ( hinayana ). Thus, Asanga argues in his Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra that the two vehicles differ in numerous ways, such as intention, teaching, employment (i.e., means), support, and the time that it takes to reach the goal. Over time, Mahayana Buddhists developed mature systematized doctrines about

2925-602: Is the cause and result of bodhicitta) eventually developed into the idea that bodhisattvas take certain formulaic " bodhisattva vows ." One of the earliest of these formulas is found in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra and states: We having crossed (the stream of samsara), may we help living beings to cross! We being liberated, may we liberate others! We being comforted, may we comfort others! We being finally released, may we release others! Other sutras contain longer and more complex formulas, such as

3042-637: Is used in the early texts to refer to Gautama Buddha in his previous lives and as a young man in his last life, when he was working towards liberation . In the early Buddhist discourses , the Buddha regularly uses the phrase "when I was an unawakened Bodhisatta" to describe his experiences before his attainment of awakening. The early texts which discuss the period before the Buddha's awakening mainly focus on his spiritual development. According to Bhikkhu Analayo , most of these passages focus on three main themes: "the bodhisattva's overcoming of unwholesome states of mind, his development of mental tranquillity, and

3159-503: Is very difficult to maintain the necessary conduct and views during periods when the Dharma has disappeared from the world. One will easily fall back during such periods and this is why one is not truly a full bodhisattva until one receives recognition from a living Buddha. Because of this, it was and remains a common practice in Theravada to attempt to establish the necessary conditions to meet

3276-475: The Buddhavaṃsa and Cariyāpiṭaka commentaries makes this explicit by stating that one cannot use a substitute (such as a Bodhi tree , Buddha statue or Stupa ) for the presence of a living Buddha, since only a Buddha has the knowledge for making a reliable prediction. This is the generally accepted view maintained in orthodox Theravada today. According to Theravāda commentators like Dhammapāla as well as

3393-464: The Suttanipāta commentary, there are three types of bodhisattvas: According to modern Theravada authors, meeting a Buddha is needed to truly make someone a bodhisattva because any other resolution to attain Buddhahood may easily be forgotten or abandoned during the aeons ahead. The Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846–1923) explains that though it is easy to make vows for future Buddhahood by oneself, it

3510-555: The Discourse on an Explanation about the Past (MĀ 66). In this discourse, a monk named Maitreya aspires to become a Buddha in the future and the Buddha then predicts that Maitreya will become a Buddha in the future. Other discourses found in the Ekottarika-āgama present the "bodhisattva Maitreya" as an example figure (EĀ 20.6 and EĀ 42.6) and one sutra in this collection also discuss how

3627-765: The Gandhari “ Many-Buddhas Sūtra ” (* Bahubudha gasutra ) and the Chinese Fó běnxíng jí jīng (佛本行 集經, Taisho vol. 3, no. 190, pp. 669a1–672a11). The four caryās (Gandhari: caria ) are the following: The bodhisattva ideal is also found in southern Buddhist sources, like the Theravāda school's Buddhavaṃsa (1st-2nd century BCE), which explains how Gautama, after making a resolution ( abhinīhāra ) and receiving his prediction ( vyākaraṇa ) of future Buddhahood from past Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he became certain ( dhuva ) to attain Buddhahood. Gautama then took four incalculable aeons and

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3744-545: The Genji scrolls. The Siege of the Sanjō Palace is another famous example of this type of painting. E-maki also serve as some of the earliest and greatest examples of the onna-e ("women's pictures") and otoko-e ("men's pictures") and styles of painting. There are many fine differences in the two styles. Although the terms seem to suggest the aesthetic preferences of each gender, historians of Japanese art have long debated

3861-663: The Imperial Household Agency . With the development of the Esoteric Buddhist sects of Shingon and Tendai , painting of the 8th and 9th centuries is characterized by religious imagery, most notably painted mandala ( 曼荼羅 , mandara ) . Numerous versions of mandala, most famously the Diamond Realm Mandala and Womb Realm Mandala at Tōji in Kyoto, were created as hanging scrolls , and also as murals on

3978-494: The Japan Fine Arts Academy ( Nihon Bijutsuin ) to compete against the government-sponsored Bunten , and although yamato-e traditions remained strong, the increasing use of western perspective , and western concepts of space and light began to blur the distinction between Nihonga and yōga . Japanese painting in the prewar Shōwa period was largely dominated by Sōtarō Yasui and Ryūzaburō Umehara , who introduced

4095-569: The Kofun period and Asuka period (300–700 AD). Along with the introduction of the Chinese writing system ( kanji ), Chinese modes of governmental administration, and Buddhism in the Asuka period, many art works were imported into Japan from China and local copies in similar styles began to be produced. With further establishment of Buddhism in 6th- and 7th-century Japan, religious painting flourished and

4212-656: The Maruyama-Shijo school , which combine Western influences with traditional Japanese elements. A third important trend in the Edo period was the rise of the Bunjinga (literati painting) genre, also known as the Nanga school (Southern Painting school). This genre started as an imitation of the works of Chinese scholar-amateur painters of the Yuan dynasty , whose works and techniques came to Japan in

4329-527: The Nikakai (Second Division Society) emerged to oppose the government-sponsored Bunten Exhibition. Japanese painting during the Taishō period was only mildly influenced by other contemporary European movements, such as neoclassicism and late post-impressionism. However, it was resurgent Nihonga , towards mid-1920s, which adopted certain trends from post-impressionism. The second generation of Nihonga artists formed

4446-633: The Nitten , on an even larger scale. Although the Nitten was initially the exhibition of the Japan Art Academy, since 1958 it has been run by a separate private corporation. Participation in the Nitten has become almost a prerequisite for nomination to the Japan Art Academy, which in itself is almost an unofficial prerequisite for nomination to the Order of Culture . The arts of the Edo and prewar periods (1603–1945)

4563-518: The Theravāda monk Bhikkhu Bodhi , while all the Buddhist traditions agree that to attain Buddhahood, one must "make a deliberate resolution" and fulfill the spiritual perfections ( pāramīs or pāramitās) as a bodhisattva, the actual bodhisattva path is not taught in the earliest strata of Buddhist texts such as the Pali Nikayas (and their counterparts such as the Chinese Āgamas ) which instead focus on

4680-522: The "isms" of the New York-Paris art world were fervently embraced. After the abstractions of the 1960s, the 1970s saw a return to realism strongly flavored by the "op" and "pop" art movements, embodied in the 1980s in the explosive works of Ushio Shinohara . Many such outstanding avant-garde artists worked both in Japan and abroad, winning international prizes. These artists felt that there was "nothing Japanese" about their works, and indeed they belonged to

4797-575: The Azuchi–Momoyama period as well, adapting Chinese themes to Japanese materials and aesthetics. One important group was the Tosa school , which developed primarily out of the yamato-e tradition, and which was known mostly for small scale works and illustrations of literary classics in book or emaki format. Important artists in the Azuchi-Momoyama period include: The economic development that accompanied

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4914-498: The Buddha taught the bodhisattva path of the six perfections to Maitreya (EĀ 27.5). 'Bodhisatta' may also connote a being who is "bound for enlightenment", in other words, a person whose aim is to become fully enlightened. In the Pāli canon , the Bodhisatta (bodhisattva) is also described as someone who is still subject to birth, illness, death, sorrow, defilement, and delusion. According to

5031-485: The Chinese literati painting tradition, calligraphy of sinograms , and the painting of animals and plants, especially birds and flowers . However, distinctively Japanese traditions have developed in all these fields. The subject matter that is widely regarded as most characteristic of Japanese painting, and later printmaking , is the depiction of scenes from everyday life and narrative scenes that are often crowded with figures and detail. This tradition no doubt began in

5148-654: The Continent and, in the second half of the period, the development of unique Eastern Japanese styles centering around the Kamakura era". During the 14th century, the development of the great Zen monasteries in Kamakura and Kyoto had a major impact on the visual arts. Suibokuga , an austere monochrome style of ink painting introduced from the Ming dynasty China of the Song and Yuan ink wash styles, especially Muqi (牧谿), largely replaced

5265-568: The Omniscient One after the attainment of the supreme and perfect bodhi." According to Peter Skilling, the Mahayana movement began when "at an uncertain point, let us say in the first century BCE, groups of monks, nuns, and lay-followers began to devote themselves exclusively to the Bodhisatva vehicle." These Mahayanists universalized the bodhisattvayana as a path which was open to everyone and which

5382-456: The Tokugawa shogunate's policies of fiscal and social austerity, the luxurious modes of these genre and styles were largely limited to the upper strata of society, and were unavailable, if not actually forbidden to the lower classes. The common people developed a separate type of art, the fūzokuga (風俗画, Genre art ), in which painting depicting scenes from common, everyday life, especially that of

5499-454: The actual meaning of these terms, and they remain unclear. Perhaps most easily noticeable are the differences in subject matter. Onna-e , epitomized by the Tale of Genji handscroll, typically deals with court life and courtly romance while otoko-e , often deal with historical or semi-legendary events, particularly battles. These genres continued on through Kamakura period Japan. This style of art

5616-477: The adaptation of imported ideas, mainly from Chinese painting , which was especially influential at a number of points; significant Western influence only comes from the 19th century onwards, beginning at the same time as Japanese art was influencing that of the West . Areas of subject matter where Chinese influence has been repeatedly significant include Buddhist religious painting, ink-wash painting of landscapes in

5733-419: The arising of bodhicitta. These elements, which constitute a kind of preliminary preparation for bodhicitta, are found in the "seven part worship" ( saptāṇgapūjā or saptavidhā anuttarapūjā ). This ritual form is visible in the works of Shantideva (8th century) and includes: After these preliminaries have been accomplished, then the aspirant is seen as being ready to give rise to bodhicitta, often through

5850-639: The arrival of a peaceful society in the Edo period led to the development of a wide variety of art forms, and many paintings were produced in a style different from that of the Kano and Tosa schools , which had been the orthodox school of painting. In 1970, Nobuo Tsuji ( ja ) published a book entitled Kisō no Keifu ( 奇想の系譜 , Lineage of Eccentrics) , which focused on painters of the "Lineage of Eccentrics" who broke with tradition, such as Iwasa Matabei , Kanō Sansetsu , Itō Jakuchū , Soga Shōhaku , Nagasawa Rosetsu , and Utagawa Kuniyoshi . This work has revolutionized

5967-478: The bodhisattva path as being open to everyone, and Mahāyāna Buddhists encourage all individuals to become bodhisattvas. Spiritually advanced bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara , Maitreya , and Manjushri are also widely venerated across the Mahāyāna Buddhist world and are believed to possess great magical power which they employ to help all living beings. In pre-sectarian Buddhism , the term bodhisatta

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6084-505: The bodhisattva. The authors of the various Madhyamaka treatises often presented the view of the ekayana , and thus held that all beings can become bodhisattvas. The texts and sutras associated with the Yogacara school developed a different theory of three separate gotras (families, lineages), that inherently predisposed a person to either the vehicle of the arhat , pratyekabuddha or samyak-saṃbuddha (fully self-awakened one). For

6201-480: The common people, kabuki theatre, prostitutes and landscapes were popular. These paintings in the 16th century gave rise to the paintings and woodcut prints of ukiyo-e . Important artists in the Edo period include: The prewar period was marked by the division of art into competing European styles and traditional indigenous styles. During the Meiji period , Japan underwent a tremendous political and social change in

6318-420: The compassionate mind aimed at awakening for the sake of all beings, is a central defining element of the bodhisattva path. Another key element of the bodhisattva path is the concept of a bodhisattva's praṇidhāna - which can mean a resolution, resolve, vow, prayer, wish, aspiration and determination. This more general idea of an earnest wish or solemn resolve which is closely connected with bodhicitta (and

6435-727: The concepts of pure art and abstract painting to the Nihonga tradition, and thus created a more interpretative version of that genre. This trend was further developed by Leonard Foujita and the Nika Society, to encompass surrealism . To promote these trends, the Independent Art Association ( Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyokai ) was formed in 1931. During the World War II , government controls and censorship meant that only patriotic themes could be expressed. Many artists were recruited into

6552-573: The course of the Europeanization and modernization campaign organized by the Meiji government . Western-style painting ( yōga ) was officially promoted by the government, who sent promising young artists abroad for studies, and who hired foreign artists to come to Japan to establish an art curriculum at Japanese schools. Kuroda Seiki is considered the leader of the yōga movement and the father of Western-style painting in Japan. However, after an initial burst of enthusiasm for western style art,

6669-546: The early Edo period was Nanban art , both in the depiction of exotic foreigners and in the use of the exotic foreigner style in painting. This genre was centered around the port of Nagasaki , which after the start of the national seclusion policy of the Tokugawa shogunate was the only Japanese port left open to foreign trade, and was thus the conduit by which Chinese and European artistic influences came to Japan. Paintings in this genre include Nagasaki school paintings, and also

6786-846: The early medieval period under Chinese influence that is now beyond tracing except in the most general terms, but from the period of the earliest surviving works had developed into a specifically Japanese tradition that lasted until the modern period. The official List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings) includes 162 works or sets of works from the 8th to the 19th century that represent peaks of achievement, or very rare survivals from early periods. The origins of painting in Japan date well back into Japan's prehistoric period . Simple figural representations, as well as botanical, architectural, and geometric designs are found on Jōmon period pottery and Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD) dōtaku bronze bells. Mural paintings with both geometric and figural designs have been found in numerous tumuli dating to

6903-430: The emotional content of the underlying narrative. Genji Monogatari is organized into discrete episodes, whereas the more lively Ban Dainagon Ekotoba uses a continuous narrative mode in order to emphasize the narrative's forward motion. These two emaki differ stylistically as well, with the rapid brush strokes and light coloring of Ban Dainagon contrasting starkly to the abstracted forms and vibrant mineral pigments of

7020-666: The fore, especially towards the end of the Heian period, including emakimono , or long illustrated handscrolls. Varieties of emakimono encompass illustrated novels, such as the Genji Monogatari , historical works, such as the Ban Dainagon Ekotoba , and religious works. In some cases, emaki artists employed pictorial narrative conventions that had been used in Buddhist art since ancient times, while at other times they devised new narrative modes that are believed to convey visually

7137-467: The future Buddha Maitreya and thus receive a prediction from him. Medieval Theravada literature and inscriptions report the aspirations of monks, kings and ministers to meet Maitreya for this purpose. Modern figures such as Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933), and U Nu (1907–1995) both sought to receive a prediction from a Buddha in the future and believed meritorious actions done for the good of Buddhism would help in their endeavor to become bodhisattvas in

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7254-410: The future. Over time the term came to be applied to other figures besides Gautama Buddha in Theravada lands, possibly due to the influence of Mahayana . The Theravada Abhayagiri tradition of Sri Lanka practiced Mahayana Buddhism and was very influential until the 12th century. Kings of Sri Lanka were often described as bodhisattvas, starting at least as early as Sirisanghabodhi (r. 247–249), who

7371-461: The gentlemen-scholars were both widely practiced in the 1980s. Sometimes all of these schools, as well as older ones, such as the Kanō school ink traditions, were drawn on by contemporary artists in the Japanese style and in the modern idiom. Many Japanese-style painters were honored with awards and prizes as a result of renewed popular demand for Japanese-style art beginning in the 1970s. More and more,

7488-424: The government propaganda effort, and critical non-emotional review of their works is only just beginning. Important artists in the prewar period include: In the postwar period, the government-sponsored Japan Art Academy ( Nihon Geijutsuin ) was formed in 1947, containing both nihonga and yōga divisions. Government sponsorship of art exhibitions has ended, but has been replaced by private exhibitions, such as

7605-670: The growth of his insight." Other early sources like the Acchariyabbhutadhamma-sutta ( MN 123, and its Chinese parallel in Madhyama-āgama 32) discuss the marvelous qualities of the bodhisattva Gautama in his previous life in Tuṣita heaven. The Pali text focuses on how the bodhisattva was endowed with mindfulness and clear comprehension while living in Tuṣita, while the Chinese source states that his lifespan, appearance, and glory

7722-456: The holy life." Another early source that discusses the qualities of bodhisattvas is the Mahāpadāna sutta. This text discusses bodhisattva qualities in the context of six previous Buddhas who lived long ago, such as Buddha Vipaśyī . Yet another important element of the bodhisattva doctrine, the idea of a prediction of someone's future Buddhahood, is found in another Chinese early Buddhist text,

7839-628: The idea that Metteya ( Maitreya ), who currently resides in Tuṣita , would become the future Buddha and that this had been predicted by the Buddha Sakyamuni was also an early doctrine related to the bodhisattva ideal. It first appears in the Cakkavattisihanadasutta . According to A.L. Basham, it is also possible that some of the Ashokan edicts reveal knowledge of the bodhisattva ideal. Basham even argues that Ashoka may have considered himself

7956-573: The ideal of the arahant . The oldest known story about how Gautama Buddha becomes a bodhisattva is the story of his encounter with the previous Buddha, Dīpankara . During this encounter, a previous incarnation of Gautama, variously named Sumedha, Megha, or Sumati offers five blue lotuses and spreads out his hair or entire body for Dīpankara to walk on, resolving to one day become a Buddha. Dīpankara then confirms that they will attain Buddhahood . Early Buddhist authors saw this story as indicating that

8073-445: The important Tamamushi Shrine include narratives such as jataka , episodes from the life of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni , in addition to iconic images of buddhas, bodhisattvas , and various minor deities. The style is reminiscent of Chinese painting from the Sui dynasty or the late Sixteen Kingdoms period. However, by the mid-Nara period, paintings in the style of the Tang dynasty became very popular. These also include

8190-545: The interior of the Phoenix Hall of the Byōdō-in , a temple in Uji, Kyoto . This is also considered an early example of so-called yamato-e ( 大和絵 , "Japanese-style painting") , insofar as it includes landscape elements such as soft rolling hills that seem to reflect something of the actual appearance of the landscape of western Japan. The mid-Heian period is seen as the golden age of Yamato-e, which were initially used primarily for sliding doors ( fusuma ) and folding screens ( byōbu ). However, new painting formats also came to

8307-423: The international modern painters also drew on the Japanese schools as they turned away from Western styles in the 1980s. The tendency had been to synthesize East and West. Some artists had already leapt the gap between the two, as did the outstanding painter Shinoda Toko . Her bold sumi ink abstractions were inspired by traditional calligraphy but realized as lyrical expressions of modern abstraction. There are also

8424-478: The international school. By the late 1970s, the search for Japanese qualities and a national style caused many artists to reevaluate their artistic ideology and turn away from what some felt were the empty formulas of the West. Tarō Okamoto was inspired by the pottery of the Jomon period to create many large, avant-garde paintings and sculptures for public spaces in Japan. As an artist and art theorist, he greatly enhanced

8541-403: The lines between commercial and popular art and fine arts. Important artists in the postwar period include: Bodhisattvas In Buddhism , a bodhisattva ( English: / ˌ b oʊ d iː ˈ s ʌ t v ə / BOH -dee- SUT -və ; Sanskrit : बोधिसत्त्व , romanized :  bodhisattva ; Pali : बोधिसत्त , romanized:  bodhisatta ) or bodhisatva is a person who

8658-426: The making of a resolution ( abhinīhāra ) in the presence of a living Buddha and his prediction/confirmation ( vyākaraṇa ) of one's future Buddhahood was necessary to become a bodhisattva. According to Drewes, "all known models of the path to Buddhahood developed from this basic understanding." Stories and teachings on the bodhisattva ideal are found in the various Jataka tale sources, which mainly focus on stories of

8775-545: The mid-18th century. Master Kuwayama Gyokushū was the greatest supporter of creating the bunjin style. He theorised that polychromatic landscapes were to be considered at the same level of monochromatic paintings by Chinese literati. Later bunjinga artists considerably modified both the techniques and the subject matter of this genre to create a blending of Japanese and Chinese styles. The exemplars of this style are Ike no Taiga , Uragami Gyokudō , Yosa Buson , Tanomura Chikuden , Tani Bunchō , and Yamamoto Baiitsu . Due to

8892-499: The most important artistic works when it came to experimentation in this period. These castles represent the power and confidence of leaders and warriors in the new age. This status continued into the subsequent Edo period, as the Tokugawa bakufu continued to promote the works of the Kanō school as the officially sanctioned art for the shōgun, daimyōs, and Imperial court. However, non-Kano school artists and currents existed and developed during

9009-422: The older schools of art, most notably those of the Edo and prewar periods, were still practiced. For example, the decorative naturalism of the rimpa school, characterized by brilliant, pure colors and bleeding washes, was reflected in the work of many artists of the postwar period in the 1980s art of Hikosaka Naoyoshi . The realism of Maruyama Ōkyo 's school and the calligraphic and spontaneous Japanese style of

9126-414: The paintings in the Heian and Kamakura periods are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists. One artist known for his perfection in this new Kamakura period art style was Unkei, and he eventually mastered this sculpturing art form and opened his own school called Kei School. As this era went on, "there were the revival of still earlier classical styles, the importation of new styles from

9243-568: The past lives of the Sakyamuni. Among the non-Mahayana Nikaya schools, the Jataka literature was likely the main genre that contained bodhisattva teachings. These stories had certainly become an important part of popular Buddhism by the time of the carving of the Bharhut Stupa railings (c. 125–100 BCE), which contain depictions of around thirty Jataka tales. Thus, it is possible that the bodhisattva ideal

9360-418: The path beginning with the first arising of the thought of becoming a Buddha ( prathamacittotpāda ), or the initial arising of bodhicitta , typically aeons before one first receives a Buddha's prediction, and apply the term bodhisattva from this point." The Ten Stages Sutra , for example, explains that the arising of bodhicitta is the first step in the bodhisattva's career. Thus, the arising of bodhicitta,

9477-621: The pendulum swung in the opposite direction, and led by art critic Okakura Kakuzō and educator Ernest Fenollosa , there was a revival of appreciation for traditional Japanese styles ( Nihonga ). In the 1880s, western style art was banned from official exhibitions and was severely criticized by critics. Hashimoto Gahō , a painter of the Kano School , was the founder of the practical side of this revival movement. He did not simply paint Japanese-style paintings using traditional techniques, but revolutionized traditional Japanese painting by incorporating

9594-474: The picture plane. By the end of the 14th century, monochrome landscape paintings (山水画 sansuiga ) had found patronage by the ruling Ashikaga family and was the preferred genre among Zen painters, gradually evolving from its Chinese roots to a more Japanese style. A further development of landscape painting was the poem picture scroll, known as shigajiku . The foremost artists of the Muromachi period are

9711-513: The polychrome scroll paintings of the early zen art in Japan attached to Buddhist iconography norms from centuries earlier such as Takuma Eiga (宅磨栄賀). Despite the new Chinese cultural wave generated by the Higashiyama culture , some polychrome portraiture remained – primary in the form of chinso paintings of Zen monks. Catching a Catfish with a Gourd (located at Taizō-in , Myōshin-ji , Kyoto), by

9828-443: The previous Muromachi period, the Azuchi–Momoyama period was characterized by a grandiose polychrome style, with extensive use of gold and silver foil that would be applied to paintings, garments, architecture, etc.; and by works on a very large scale. In contrast to the lavish style many knew, military elite supported rustic simplicity, especially in the form of the tea ceremony where they would use weathered and imperfect utensils in

9945-426: The priest-painter Josetsu , marks a turning point in Muromachi painting. In the foreground a man is depicted on the bank of a stream holding a small gourd and looking at a large slithery catfish. Mist fills the middle ground, and the background, mountains appear to be far in the distance. It is generally assumed that the "new style" of the painting, executed about 1413, refers to a more Chinese sense of deep space within

10062-491: The priest-painters Shūbun and Sesshū . Shūbun, a monk at the Kyoto temple of Shōkoku-ji , created in the painting Reading in a Bamboo Grove (1446) a realistic landscape with deep recession into space. Sesshū, unlike most artists of the period, was able to journey to China and study Chinese painting at its source. Landscape of the Four Seasons ( Sansui Chokan ; c. 1486) is one of Sesshu's most accomplished works, depicting

10179-640: The realistic expression of Yōga and set the direction for the later Nihonga movement. As the first professor at the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts ), he trained many painters who would later be considered Nihonga masters, including Yokoyama Taikan , Shimomura Kanzan , Hishida Shunsō , and Kawai Gyokudō . The Yōga style painters formed the Meiji Bijutsukai (Meiji Fine Arts Society) to hold its own exhibitions and to promote

10296-429: The recitation of a bodhisattva vow . Contemporary Mahāyāna Buddhism encourages everyone to give rise to bodhicitta and ceremonially take bodhisattva vows. With these vows and precepts, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all sentient beings by practicing the transcendent virtues or paramitas . In Mahāyāna, bodhisattvas are often not Buddhist monks and are former lay practitioners. After

10413-548: The reign of Yoshihito, bringing with them the techniques of Impressionism and early Post-Impressionism . The works of Camille Pissarro , Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir influenced early Taishō period paintings. However, yōga artists in the Taishō period also tended towards eclecticism , and there was a profusion of dissident artistic movements. These included the Fusain Society ( Fyuzankai ) which emphasized styles of post-impressionism, especially Fauvism . In 1914,

10530-689: The reputation of the Jomon period in Japanese art history. Contemporary paintings within the modern idiom began to make conscious use of traditional Japanese art forms, devices, and ideologies. A number of mono-ha artists turned to painting to recapture traditional nuances in spatial arrangements, color harmonies, and lyricism. Japanese-style or nihonga painting continues in a prewar fashion, updating traditional expressions while retaining their intrinsic character. Some artists within this style still paint on silk or paper with traditional colors and ink, while others used new materials, such as acrylics . Many of

10647-409: The second, as this is still extant: Japanese painting Japanese painting ( 絵画 , kaiga ; also gadō 画道) is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts , encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and

10764-517: The self-conceit that they are." However, for Sarvāstivāda, one is not technically a bodhisattva until the end of the third incalculable aeon, after which one begins to perform the actions which lead to the manifestation of the marks of a great person . The Mahāvastu of the Mahāsāṃghika - Lokottaravādins presents various ideas regarding the school's conception of the bodhisattva ideal. According to this text, bodhisattva Gautama had already reached

10881-447: The sravakas do so for their own good ( sv-ārtha ) and thus, do not have bodhicitta (which is compassionately focused on others). Mahayana bodhisattvas were not just abstract models for Buddhist practice, but also developed as distinct figures which were venerated by Indian Buddhists. These included figures like Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara , which are personifications of the basic virtues of wisdom and compassion respectively and are

10998-460: The sravakas, he preached the doctrine which is associated with the four Noble Truths and leads to Dependent Origination. It aims at transcending birth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress of mind and weariness; and it ends in nirvana. But, to the great being, the bodhisattva, he preached the doctrine, which is associated with the six perfections and which ends in the Knowledge of

11115-498: The state of a śrāvaka not only in Mahayana but also in Theravada. Rahula writes "the fact is that both the Theravada and the Mahayana unanimously accept the Bodhisattva ideal as the highest...Although the Theravada holds that anybody can be a Bodhisattva, it does not stipulate or insist that all must be Bodhisattva which is considered not practical." He also quotes the 10th century king of Sri Lanka, Mahinda IV (956–972 CE), who had

11232-401: The superior goal of sambodhi ( Buddhahood ) and thus must continue to strive until they reach this goal. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra , one of the earliest known Mahayana texts, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva , which is also the earliest known Mahāyāna definition. This definition is given as the following: "Because he has bodhi as his aim,

11349-491: The ten vows found in the Ten Stages Sutra . Mahayana sources also discuss the importance of a Buddha's prediction ( vyākaraṇa ) of a bodhisattva's future Buddhahood. This is seen as an important step along the bodhisattva path. Later Mahayana Buddhists also developed specific rituals and devotional acts for which helped to develop various preliminary qualities, such as faith, worship, prayer, and confession, that lead to

11466-414: The term "bodhisattva" can refer to those who follow any of the three vehicles, since all are working towards bodhi . Therefore, the specific term for a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is a mahāsattva (great being) bodhisattva . According to Atiśa 's 11th century Bodhipathapradīpa , the central defining feature of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is the universal aspiration to end suffering for all sentient beings, which

11583-522: The three vehicles of the Śrāvakayāna , Pratyekabuddhayāna and the Bodhisattvayāna were really just one vehicle ( ekayana ). This is most famously promoted in the Lotus Sūtra which claims that the very idea of three separate vehicles is just an upaya , a skillful device invented by the Buddha to get beings of various abilities on the path. But ultimately, it will be revealed to them that there

11700-514: The time of the great scholar Buddhaghosa (5th-century CE), orthodox Theravāda held the standard Indian Buddhist view that there were three main spiritual paths within Buddhism: the way of the Buddhas ( buddhayāna ) i.e. the bodhisatta path; the way of the individual Buddhas ( paccekabuddhayāna ); and the way of the disciples ( sāvakayāna ). The Sri Lankan commentator Dhammapāla (6th century CE) wrote

11817-422: The twelfth through the fourteenth century. It was a time of art works, such as paintings, but mainly sculptures that brought a more realistic visual of life and its aspects at the time. In each of these statues many life-like traits were incorporated into the production of making them. Many sculptures included noses, eyes, individual fingers, and other details that were new to the sculpture place in art." As most of

11934-526: The two most important bodhisattvas in Mahayana. The development of bodhisattva devotion parallels the development of the Hindu bhakti movement . Indeed, Dayal sees the development of Indian bodhisattva cults as a Buddhist reaction to the growth of bhakti centered religion in India which helped to popularize and reinvigorate Indian Buddhism. Some Mahayana sutras promoted another revolutionary doctrinal turn, claiming that

12051-407: The various bodhisattva "perfections" ( pāramitās ) which include prajñāpāramitā ("transcendent knowledge" or "perfection of wisdom") and skillful means ( upāya ). In Theravāda Buddhism , the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual. Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya . Mahāyāna Buddhism generally understands

12168-753: The wall murals in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb , dating from around 700 AD. This style evolved into the Kara-e genre, which remained popular through the early Heian period . As most of the paintings in the Nara period are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists. A large collection of Nara period art, Japanese as well as from the Chinese Tang dynasty is preserved at the Shōsō-in , an 8th-century repository formerly owned by Tōdai-ji and currently administered by

12285-521: The walls of temples. A noted early example is at the five-story pagoda of Daigo-ji , a temple south of Kyoto . The Kose School was a family of court artists founded by Kanaoka Kose in the latter half of the 9th century, during the early Heian period. This school does not represent a single style of painting like other schools, but the various painting styles created by Kanaoka Kose and his descendants and pupils. This school changed Chinese style paintings with Chinese themes into Japanese style and played

12402-561: The way Japanese art history is viewed, and Edo period painting has become one of the most popular areas of Japanese art in Japan. In recent years, scholars and art exhibitions have often added Hakuin Ekaku and Suzuki Kiitsu to the six artists listed by Tsuji, calling them the painters of the "Lineage of Eccentrics". One very significant school which arose in the early Edo period was the Rinpa school , which used classical themes, but presented them in

12519-485: The words inscribed "none but the bodhisattvas will become kings of a prosperous Lanka," among other examples. Jeffrey Samuels echoes this perspective, noting that while in Mahayana Buddhism the bodhisattva path is held to be universal and for everyone, in Theravada it is "reserved for and appropriated by certain exceptional people." Mahāyāna Buddhism (often also called Bodhisattvayāna , "Bodhisattva Vehicle")

12636-415: The yogacarins then, only some beings (those who have the "bodhisattva lineage") can enter the bodhisattva path. In East Asian Buddhism, the view of the one vehicle ( ekayana ) which holds that all Buddhist teachings are really part of a single path, is the standard view. The term bodhisattva was also used in a broader sense by later authors. According to the eighth-century Mahāyāna philosopher Haribhadra ,

12753-502: Was also traditionally considered to be a reincarnation of Maitreya. Paul Williams writes that some modern Theravada meditation masters in Thailand are popularly regarded as bodhisattvas. Various modern figures of esoteric Theravada traditions (such as the weizzās of Burma) have also claimed to be bodhisattvas. Theravada bhikkhu and scholar Walpola Rahula writes that the bodhisattva ideal has traditionally been held to be higher than

12870-480: Was greater than all the devas (gods). These sources also discuss various miracles which accompanied the bodhisattva's conception and birth, most famously, his taking seven steps and proclaiming that this was his last life. The Chinese source (titled Discourse on Marvellous Qualities ) also states that while living as a monk under the Buddha Kāśyapa he "made his initial vow to [realize] Buddhahood [while] practicing

12987-519: Was greatly exemplified in the painting titled Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace , a piece full of vibrant colors, details, and a great visualization from a novel titled the Heiji Monogatari . E-maki of various kinds continued to be produced; however, the Kamakura period was much more strongly characterized by the art of sculpture , rather than painting. "The Kamakura period extended from the end of

13104-407: Was popularized through the telling of Jatakas. Jataka tales contain numerous stories which focus on the past life deeds of Sakyamuni when he was a bodhisattva. These deeds generally express bodhisattva qualities and practices (such as compassion, the six perfections, and supernatural power) in dramatic ways, and include numerous acts of self-sacrifice. Apart from Jataka stories related to Sakyamuni,

13221-872: Was renowned for his compassion, took vows for the welfare of the citizens, and was regarded as a mahāsatta (Sanskrit: mahāsattva ), an epithet used almost exclusively in Mahayana Buddhism . Many other Sri Lankan kings from the 3rd until the 15th century were also described as bodhisattas and their royal duties were sometimes clearly associated with the practice of the ten pāramitās . In some cases, they explicitly claimed to have received predictions of Buddhahood in past lives. Popular Buddhist figures have also been seen as bodhisattvas in Theravada Buddhist lands. Shanta Ratnayaka notes that Anagarika Dharmapala , Asarapasarana Saranarikara Sangharaja, and Hikkaduwe Sri Sumamgala "are often called bodhisattvas". Buddhaghosa

13338-401: Was supported by merchants and urban people. Counter to the Edo and prewar periods, arts of the postwar period became popular. After World War II , painters, calligraphers , and printmakers flourished in the big cities, particularly Tokyo , and became preoccupied with the mechanisms of urban life, reflected in the flickering lights, neon colors , and frenetic pace of their abstractions. All

13455-462: Was taught for all beings to follow. This was in contrast to the Nikaya schools, which held that the bodhisattva path was only for a rare set of individuals. Indian Mahayanists preserved and promoted a set of texts called Vaipulya ("Extensive") sutras (later called Mahayana sutras ). Mahayana sources like the Lotus Sutra also claim that arhats that have reached nirvana have not truly finished their spiritual quest, for they still have not attained

13572-500: Was used to adorn numerous temples erected by the aristocracy. However, Nara-period Japan is recognized more for important contributions in the art of sculpture than painting. The earliest surviving paintings from this period include the murals on the interior walls of the Kondō ( 金堂 ) at the temple Hōryū-ji in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture . These mural paintings, as well as painted images on

13689-419: Was widely cited by various sources. According to Ulrich Pagel, this text is "one of the longest works on the bodhisattva in Mahayana literature" and thus provides extensive information on the topic bodhisattva training, especially the perfections ( pāramitā ) . Pagel also argues that this text was quite influential on later Mahayana writings which discuss the bodhisattva and thus was "of fundamental importance to

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