ATTACK ON SANJO PALACE All the painting types flour-
ishing in the Heian period continued to prosper in the Kamakura
period. A striking example of handscroll painting is Events of the
Heiji Period,which dates to the 13th century and illustrates another
facet of Japanese painting—historical narrative. The scroll depicts
some of the battles in the civil wars at the end of the Heian period.
The section reproduced here (FIG. 8-17) represents the attack on
the Sanjo palace in the middle of the night in which the retired em-
peror Goshirakawa was taken prisoner and his palace burned.
Swirling flames and billowing clouds of smoke dominate the com-
position. Below, soldiers on horseback and on foot do battle. As in
other Heian and Kamakura scrolls, the artist represented the build-
ings seen from above at a sharp angle. Noteworthy here are the
painter’s staccato brushwork and the vivid flashes of color that beau-
tifully capture the drama of the event.
AMIDA DESCENDINGBuddhism and Buddhist painting
also remained vital in the Kamakura period, and elite patrons con-
tinued to commission major Pure Land artworks. Pure Land Bud-
dhism in Japan stressed the saving power of Amida, who, if called
on, hastened to believers at the moment of death and conveyed them
to his Pure Land. Pictures of this scene often hung in the presence of
a dying person, who recited Amida’s
name to ensure salvation. In Amida
Descending over the Mountains (FIG.
8-18), a gigantic Amida rises from be-
hind the mountains against the back-
drop of a dark sky. His two main atten-
dant bodhisattvas, Kannon and Seishi,
have already descended and are de-
picted as if addressing the deceased
directly. Below, two boys point to the
approaching divinities. In contrast to
these gesticulating figures, Amida is
still and frontal, which gives his image
an iconic quality. Particularly striking
220 Chapter 8 JAPAN BEFORE 13338-17Night Attack
on the Sanjo Palace,
from Events of the Heiji
Period,Kamakura
period, 13th century.
Handscroll, ink and
colors on paper, 1 41 – 4
high; complete scroll
22 10 long. Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston
(Fenollosa-Weld
Collection).
The Heijiscroll is an
example of Japanese
historical narrative
painting. Staccato
brushwork and vivid
flashes of color beauti-
fully capture the drama
of the night attack and
burning of Emperor
Goshirakawa’s palace.
8-18Amida Descending
over the Mountains,Kama-
kura period, 13th century.
Hanging scroll, ink and
colors on silk, 4 31 – 8
3 101 – 2 . Zenrinji, Kyoto.
Pictures of Amida descend-
ing to convey the dead to
the Buddhist Pure Land
Paradise often hung in the
room of a dying person.
In this hanging scroll the
representation of Amida
has an iconic character.is the way in which his halo (nimbus) resembles a rising moon, an
image long admired in Japan for its spiritual beauty.MUROMACHIThe Kamakura period ended the way it began—
with civil war. After several years of conflict, one shogun emerged
supreme and governed Japan from his headquarters in the Mura-
machi district of Kyoto. The art and architecture of the Muromachi
period to the present are the subject of Chapter 28.1 ft.1 in.