Shigisan engi scrolls

Shigesan-engi Emaki (excerpt from roll 1)

Shigisan-engi Emaki ( Japanese 信 貴 山 縁 起 絵 巻 , German "Illustrated scrolls from Mount Shigi") describes miracles that are attributed to the monk Myōren (命 蓮). He worked in a monastery on Mount Shigi near Nara in Japan in the second half of the 9th century. The scrolls from the 12th century are registered as a national treasure.

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The Shigisan-engi Emaki consists of three scrolls belonging to the temple Chōgozonshi-ji (朝 護 孫子 寺), also called Shigesan-ji (信 貴 山寺). The scrolls illustrate three miracles attributed to Myōren.

Scroll 1 , usually called "The Flying Granary", tells of Myōren's rice bowl, who made a flying trip every day to fill herself with rice from the granary of a wealthy landowner. Once when the rice bowl was locked in the attic, the bowl simply flew back with him to the temple to bring the rice to Myōren. Dimensions: 31.7 × 879.9 cm.

Roll 2 : "The Exorcism of Emperor Engi" tells the wonderful healing of Emperor Daigo , who reigned from 897 to 930, through the prayers of Myoren. Dimensions: 31.7 × 1290.8 cm.

Role 3 : “The story of a nun” tells about Myōren's older sister's search for him and how she finally found him after praying in front of the Great Buddha in Tōdai-ji in Nara. Dimensions: 31.7 × 1424.1 cm.

The Shigisan-engi Emaki is the earliest example of a continuously illustrated legend. Executed in flexible ink lines and light watercolors on paper, each scroll develops its events in uninterrupted sequence. The leading people are shown repeatedly before the landscape and architectural background changes.

Remarks

1. ↑ The scrolls have been given to the Nara National Museum for safekeeping.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Shigisan engi emaki . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1365.