Anrakujuin Temple: Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Attendants

JAPAN, Kyoto; Kamakura period

This 13th century painting of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was listed as an Important Cultural Property in 1906. Samantabhadra is seated in a relaxed pose upon a lotus throne on the back of a six-tusked elephant. Wearing a tall headdress and a robe with decorative sleeves, the Bodhisattva holds a long-stemmed lotus placed with three vajras. Four similarly attired Bodhisattvas stand beside Samantabhadra, holding an incense burner, a peacock feather, a flower, and a tray covered with flowers. With the head, neck, and legs adorned with ornaments, the stately elephant holds a lotus with its trunk. A mahout stands beside the elephant, carrying a rope and a halberd. At the bottom of the picture, a small child joins palms in reverence. This bright and colorful silk painting is characteristic of Buddhist paintings from the Kamakura period.