Legends of the Yūzū Nembutsu Sect

Notes from the museum

This long narrative handscroll recounting events in the life of the charismatic monk Ryōnin (1072–1132) is both endearingly personal and deeply spiritual. We fi rst encounter Ryōnin as a recluse in Ōhara, north of Kyoto, where he remained in prayer and meditation for twenty-four years while his fame as a holy man spread. One day the Amida Buddha appeared to him in a dream, riding in on a pedestal of clouds and radiating golden light. The vision told him to redirect his path toward enlightenment not by studying the sutras and living in isolation but by chanting a simple nembutsu prayer—an invocation of the Amida Buddha—with a pure heart, and teaching others to do the same. Inspired by his dream, Ryōnin developed a dynamic new approach to salvation based on the Buddhist concept of yūzū, which refers to the interrelationship or initial oneness of all things. Given this connection, the meritorious action of one individual benefi ts many. The remainder of the scroll shows the monk taking this teaching into the world, starting his appeal with the imperial court and eventually converting all the humans and deities that make up Japan’s spiritual universe. Seeing these miraculous events unfold as each section of the scroll was opened to the width of an arm’s length and viewed close-up would have had a great impact on medieval viewers. This rare work remains one of the most important rec

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

Slow Look

1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?