In this artwork, how is the Description discussed?
The emakimono, divided into two parts, narrates the legend of the lives of two Korean Buddhist monks who established the Kegon sect in the 7th century in their country (then the kingdom of Silla, or Shiragi in Japanese) after several pilgrimages to China: Gishō (Uisang) and Gengyō (Wonhyo). Today, the work consists of six paper scrolls, approximately 31 cm (12 in) high and about 81.95 m (268.9 ft) in total length. Four are dedicated to Gishō and two to Gengyō.
Gishō and Gengyō are two humble monks who plan to go to China to complete their learning of Buddhism. However, and as depicted in the first scroll, Gengyō gives up from the start, convinced in a dream that he must seek salvation in himself, and the two friends separate. The following three scrolls are dedicated to the legend of Gishō and Zenmyō (Shan-miao), a young Chinese girl who falls in love with him while he is on his pilgrimage to China. Gishō converts Zenmyō to Buddhism, then begins his return to his own country, to the great despair of the young girl. Zenmyō, rushing to the port, arrives too late to offer him a farewell gift, and his boat disappears over the horizon; in despair, she throws the offering into the water which then follows the boat carrying her beloved. Struck by this miracle, she throws herself into the water, swearing to protect her beloved forever, and transforms into a dragon to carry Gishō's boat on her back for the rest of the journey to Korea. There the boat turns into a mountain on which a temple is erected and Zenmyō has since been revered as the patron goddess of the Kegon sect. This dramatic story is famous in Japan and several collections of legends relate it.The other scrolls are dedicated to Gengyō and therefore take place in Korea (the kingdom of Silla), although the separation of Gishō and Gengyō from each other is also related at the beginning. The artist tells in particular how Gengyō obtains the Vajrasamddhi (Kongō sanmai kyō) sutra from the king of the seas in order to save the seriously ill queen.
Several specialists have stressed the importance of the didactic aspect of the scroll: the teaching of the legend of the founding of the temple should remain central in the analysis of the content. Indeed, the separate accounts of the lives of the two monks illustrate in a simple way the ways of enlightenment advocated by the Kegon school: in the case of Gengyō, the dream that initiates the search for the purity of the spirit by removing it from earthly constraints, and in the case of Gishō the pilgrimage for learning the dharma. These simple answers reflect the new thoughts of society in the Kamakura period.
Kegon Buddhist Kamakura period Buddhism Silla Zen Gishō Uisang Wonhyo Gengyō emakimono