In this artwork, how is the History discussed?
The history of this hanging scroll represents a unique case of religious metamorphosis, for it has been used by three religions. It can be divided into three episodes: before ca. 1552, the image was venerated by Manichaeans from southern China. From 1552 (or 1608) to 1612, during this period of sixty years (at most), the painting functioned as a Christian object in Japan. No written records, only legend at Seiunji Temple, suggests that the painting belonged to an executed Christian daimyō Arima Harunobu, before it ended up in the Buddhist temple. The most recent, which has lasted approximately four hundred years, when the scroll has been used as a Buddhist work of art in the Seiunji Temple in Japan. The Japanese Buddhists considered it a depiction of Ākāśagarbha (Japanese: 虚空蔵菩薩), a celestial bodhisattva worshipped in Esoteric Buddhism.
Buddhist Esoteric Buddhism Arima Harunobu Christian bodhisattva daimyō Japanese Manichaeans Ākāśagarbha hanging scroll Seiunji Temple