Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

important surviving monument in Japan related to Pure Land beliefs

is the so-called Phoenix Hall (FIG. 8-13) of the Byodoin. Fujiwara

Yorimichi, the powerful regent for three emperors between 1016 and

1068, built the temple in memory of his father, Michinaga, on the

grounds of Michinaga’s summer villa at Uji. Dedicated in 1053, the

Phoenix Hall houses a wooden statue of Amida carved from multiple

joined blocks, the predominant wooden sculpture technique by this

time. The building’s elaborate winged form evokes images of the

Buddha’s palace in his Pure Land, as depicted in East Asian paintings

(FIG. 7-15) in which the architecture reflects the design of Chinese

palaces. By placing only light pillars on the exterior, elevating the

wings, and situating the whole on a reflective pond, the Phoenix Hall

builders suggested the floating weightlessness of celestial architec-

ture. The building’s name derives from its overall birdlike shape and

from two bronze phoenixes decorating the ridgepole ends. In eastern

Asia, these birds were believed to alight on lands properly ruled. Here,

they represent imperial might, sometimes associated especially with

the empress. The authority of the Fujiwara family derived primarily

from the marriage of daughters to the imperial line.

TALE OF GENJI Japan’s most admired literary classic is Tale of

Genji,written around 1000 by Murasaki Shikubu (usually referred

to as Lady Murasaki), a lady-in-waiting at the court. Recounting the

lives and loves of Prince Genji and his descendants,Tale of Genji pro-

vides readers with a view of Heian court culture (see “Heian Court

Culture,” page 217). The oldest extant examples of illustrated copies

are fragments from a deluxe set of early-12th-century handscrolls

(see “Chinese Painting Materials and Formats,” Chapter 7, page

190). From textual and physical evidence, scholars have suggested

that the set originally consisted of about 10 handscrolls produced by

five teams of artisans. Each team consisted of a nobleman talented in

calligraphy, a chief painter who drew the compositions in ink, and

assistants who added the color. The script is primarily hiragana,a

sound-based writing system developed in Japan from Chinese char-

acters. Hiragana originally served the needs of women (who were

not taught Chinese) and became the primary script for Japanese

court poetry. In these handscrolls, pictures alternate with text, as in

Gu Kaizhi’s Admonitions scrolls (FIG. 7-12). However, the Japanese

work focuses on emotionally charged moments in personal relation-

ships rather than on lessons in exemplary behavior.

In the scene illustrated here (FIG. 8-14), Genji meets with his

greatest love near the time of her death. The bush-clover in the gar-

den identifies the season as autumn, the season associated with the

fading of life and love. A radically upturned ground plane and strong

216 Chapter 8 JAPAN BEFORE 1333

8-13Phoenix Hall, Byodoin, Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, Heian period, 1053.

The Phoenix Hall’s elaborate winged form evokes images of Amida’s palace in the Western Pure Land. Situated on a reflective pond, the temple

suggests the floating weightlessness of celestial architecture.

8-14AFUJIWARA

NOSADANOBU,

Ishiyama-gire,

early 12th

century.

8-13AJOCHO,
Seated Amida,
Phoenix Hall,
Uji, 1053.