In the context of this artwork, explore the Style and composition of the Shōkai version (1299): Ippen hijiri-e.
The emakimono, characterized by its realism and colours, belongs to the yamato-e style of the Kamakura period. However, unlike most emakimono of the day, the early influences of the wash technique of the Song dynasty in China are also on display. The work is based on the alternation between calligraphy and painted sequences, over 48 sections in total (in reference to the 48 wishes of Amida). Transitions between paintings are most often marked by expanses of mist or water, buildings or the change of seasons. The composition presents the same dualism between techniques typical of yamato-e and incorporation of Chinese Song and Yuan elements."If the work is sensitive to the influence of Southern Song wash painting, it nevertheless participates, while taking up yamato-e processes, in the new realistic trends of the Kamakura period [...] and explores thus a new pictorial space."
Beginning with yamato-e, the scrolls exploit the classical composition techniques of emakimono: the whole is based on long parallel vanishing lines that accompany the eye movement and suggest depth, as well as distant elevated viewpoints (so-called "bird's-eye" perspective) and the intensive use of mists (suyari). The classic iji-dō-zu technique, which consists of representing the same character several times in a scene to suggest the flow of time and vary the rhythm with great economy of means, is also used on several paintings, for example the scene of the warriors (Scroll IV, Section 3), who, in the centre, first threaten Ippen, but then, at top left, are converted by the monk. Ippen having dedicated his life to roaming, the travel scenes dominate the work, but despite the importance of the landscapes, the subjective and non-realistic Japanese perspective remains tangible, the main elements of each section being enlarged in relation to the proportions of the sets. In particular, Ippen and his group always appear unusually tall compared with other characters and buildings, as they are central to the story (the religious emakimono had mainly a didactic interest). The point of view adopted varies between scenes in the same section in order to energise the story, which can sometimes be unusually distant, so that the details and the crowd become minuscule.Landscape scenes, often performed in the styles of Chinese Tang ("blue and green"), Song and Yuan painting, dominate the composition in the Chinese lyrical and spiritual tradition (the art of shan shui). In particular, the first influences of the Song wash technique in Japan show through, the contours and inking being very close to the lively and rough line. Several details reveal that the artists were inspired by the style of the Southern Song: the framing of the compositions, the depth of the landscapes rendered by a succession of images, or the use of the side of the brush rather than the tip for the contours of the mountains. The influence of Chinese landscapes explains the marked realism of the paintings, especially in perspective, a realism that characterises the art of the Kamakura period. Thus, in spite of the unrealistic sizes of the characters and improbable points of view in height, the landscapes are most often deep and rigorously proportioned, reinforced by pictorial techniques such as painting the trees in a detailed way in the foreground and blurred in the background, or even flocks of birds that gradually disappear towards the horizon. The colour itself finally makes it possible to reinforce the hollows and reliefs.Realism, much appreciated by the Kamakura bushis, was thus born from the influences of the Chinese landscape, but also reinforced by the dynamic and very detailed representation of everyday life. The emakimono of the 13th  century attached particular importance to the representation of crowds here, with a penchant for the common. The drawings of the buildings still in existence today are for the most part so detailed that sketches must have been made on the spot during Ippen's travels, probably by En'i himself. The contrast between the precision of architectural details and unrealistic parallel perspective is felt in all the buildings. H. Okudaira also writes that "there is often a strong association between human emotions and the natural world" in this type of emakimono. There is in fact a correspondence between certain landscapes and feelings conveyed by the story, for example the cherry trees of Iyo painted just after flowering when Ippen leaves his home, to evoke the separation.
Kamakura period Song dynasty ink yamato-e Ippen Iyo Scroll IV, Section 3 wash Tang bushi vanishing lines En'i Amida Yuan emakimono left shan shui