In this artwork, how is the Description discussed?
The Kokawa-dera Engi Emaki recounts the miraculous origins of the Kokawa-dera temple, founded in 770 according to legend, and its main figure, a statue of Kannon with a thousand arms (Senju Kannon). The origins and foundation of Buddhist temples (engi in Japanese) was a classic subject of emakimono, often with a proselytising purpose of reaching as many people as possible. The work consists of a single scroll of paper, 30.8 cm (12.1 in) high by 1,984.2 cm (781.2 in) long, organised into four short calligraphic sections and five long painting areas, but the start of the scroll (precisely the first calligraphic section and a piece of the first painting) was burned in a fire, and the remaining parts are partially damaged at the edges.
The legend related by the work is based on the two parts of the text of Kokawa-dera engi (The Legends of Kokawa-dera). The first part of the text tells the tale of a hunter named Ōtomo no Kujiko from Kii Province in the 8th century. Several nights in a row, Kannon with a thousand arms revealed himself to this hunter by a strange light, so much so that Ōtomo no Kujiko decided to build him a temple there. A young ascetic promised him to carve a statue in seven days for this sanctuary; it is the statue of Kannon from Kokawa-dera temple. The second part of the text describes a miracle associated with this statue. In legend, a young monk one day healed the sick daughter of a wealthy man with prayers. Refusing the money offered as a thank you, he only accepted a knife and a red hakama as a reward, saying he was going back to his home in Kokawa, Kii Province. The wealthy man and his family made a pilgrimage there the following year. Going up the course of the Kokawa River, they discovered the shrine and the image of Kannon with a thousand arms, adorned with the dagger and the red hakama. They then concluded the miracle by understanding that the young monk was none other than the manifestation of Kannon, and decided to devote their lives to following the path of Buddhism.
Buddhist hakama emakimono Buddhism Kii Province Kokawa-dera Kannon