Kamakura period (13th century)
Tangible Cultural Property, designated by Yamagata Prefecture
Donated by the Homma family
Fudō Myōō, or the Immovable Wisdom King, is a wrathful avatar of the Sun Buddha. In this painting, he is seated in the full lotus position (a sitting position where one interlocks one’s legs) atop a hewn stone base, holding a flaming sword in his right hand, and a coil of rope in his left. The stone base, or shitsushitsu-za, typically refers to a base of precious gems, and is specific to depictions of Fudō Myōō.
He is flanked by his attendants: Kongara Dōji on the right, and Seitaka Dōji on the left. At the lower right of the image is Renge Dōji, clasping a long lotus flower stem, and at the lower left are five messengers turned towards Fudō Myōō, their hands pressed together in worship. The background has been left unpainted, and the flaming nimbuses haloing each deity have been painstakingly rendered.
This painting strongly resembles the painting of Fudō Myōō at Onjō-ji Temple (modern day Mii-dera) in Shiga Prefecture; indeed, it is a faithful copy brought back by Chishō Daishi (also known as Enchin) (814–891), a Tendai Buddhist scholar-monk.
It was bequeathed to the Homma family in 1924 by Kikuchi Shūgen, then-abbot of their ancestral temple, Jōfukuji Temple.