sense of his instantaneous arrival. Amitabha in such a
composition may also be replaced by other buddhas,
such as Maitreya.
Related to the descent pictures in the Kamakura pe-
riod is a new type of design known as “Amitabha
Crossing the Mountains.” The composition shows the
radiant bust-length Amitabha trinity towering over
mountain peaks in the horizon. Premised upon the as-
sociation of Amitabha Pure Land with the west, the ra-
diant icon evokes the setting sun. Standard textbook
accounts correlate the development of the descent pic-
tures to the doctrinal lineage of Pure Land school
teaching laid out by Shandao and explicated and prop-
agated in Japan by GENSHIN (942–1017), HONEN
(1133–1212), and SHINRAN(1173–1262). It is more fit-
ting to see teachings by Genshin and his followers not
as the determining source for image-making, but as
collaborative testimony to the collective aspiration that
finds different channels of expression.
Spatial installation of pure lands
Both sculptures and paintings are often integrated into
spatial simulation of pure lands. An early-seventh-
century Chinese monk named Zhenhui is said to have
built a “pure land” dominated by a square high altar
overlooking a ground of lapis lazuli with crisscrossing
paths bounded by golden ropes. An elaborate surviv-
ing example of a pure land simulation is the PHOENIX
HALL(AT THEBYODOIN) near Kyoto, built in the mid-
eleventh century. Its interior houses an Amitabha
statue in the center, surrounded on four sides with
wooden panels depicting painted scenes of the nine de-
grees of rebirth. In front of the hall is a pond, a key
feature of the topography of the Western Paradise.
Moreover, the architectural design of the Phoenix Hall
itself evokes a winged bird, another feature associated
with the Amitabha land.As the general trend of Buddhist art gradually
turned more toward esoteric charms and invocations,
Amitabha Buddha was increasingly assimilated into
MANDALAdesigns; written characters invoking prayer
formulae replaced iconic images and visionary
tableaux. With the loss of its topographic character,
pure land art also lost its distinction.See also:Central Asia, Buddhist Art in; China, Bud-
dhist Art in; Horyuji and Todaiji; Japan, Buddhist Art
in; Korea, Buddhist Art in; Pure Land Buddhism; Pure
Land SchoolsPURELANDARTThe Phoenix Hall at the Byodoin, Kyoto, Japan. Built in 1053, it was intended as a three-dimensional representation of the Sukhavatl
Pure Land—the Western Paradise—of Amitabha. © Archivo Iconografico, S.A./Corbis. Reproduced by permission.