Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan

Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan

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Title: Saint Honen, Circa 1550-1650. An Uncommon, Detailed Painting of the Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition, With the Three-Leaf Hollyhock Crest of the Tokugawa Clan
Condition: Very Good

A Late Muromachi to Early Edo Period, 16th to 17th century painting depicting Honen, founder of the Jōdo-shū, Pure Land School of Buddhism, and Seventh Patriarch of the Shinshu Tradition.

This painting is a later copy of the original crescent moon motif, which purportedly originated in the spring of the second year of the Kenkyu Era (1190), when Ukyo Gon-no-daibu Takanobu, acting on an order from Emperor Goshirakawa, painted a portrait of the monk Honen, and it is said that Takanobu himself revered him throughout his life. The clouds are a sign of auspiciousness, and the rare beauty of Buddhism is evident in the image of the founder.

A monk from the end of the Heian period to the early Kamakura period, Honen (1133-1212 ) was founder of the Jōdo-shū, Pure Land School of Buddhism. Born in Inaoka Manor, Kumenanjo, Mimasaka Province, at the age of 9, he lost his father in a night attack by Akashi Sadaaki, the custodian of Inaoka Manor, and was taken in by his uncle Kankaku, who was at his family temple. In 1145, he climbed Mount Hiei, first studying under Genko at Jihobo in Kitadani, Saito, and two years later studying under Koen at Kudoku-in in Nishidani, Toto, and in 1147 he received the precepts at Kaidan-in, achieving his true purpose of becoming a monk. He gathered numerous followers and critics alike, with his teachings becoming incredibly popular, though his path eventually led him to exile in 1207, though he was eventually pardoned. He was also the teacher to Shinran, the found of Jodo Shinshu, the other major Japanese Pure Land tradition.  As a result, he is referred to as the Seventh Patriarch in the Shinshū tradition.

The painting has been neatly mounted onto a brocade decorated kakejiku (hanging scroll), with jikusaki (knobs) made of brass.

One painting mounted on a kakejiku (hanging scroll), 145 x 56 cm full size, 59 x 36 cm main painting

This painting is in very good shape, with some staining and a few creases and cracks to the painting, though not causing any significant paint loss.