ŚĀKYAMUNI (J. SHAKAMUNI), Life of.

Finely illustrated manuscript on paper entitled on first leaf “Shaka no honji” 釈迦の本地 [“The Life of Shakamuni Buddha”].

23 folding (several double-page) finely colored paintings of scenes of Buddha’s life. 50; 40; 51 folding leaves of text. Three vols. Large 8vo (272 x 198 mm.), modern wrappers, covered with beige silk, gold-speckled endpapers, stitched. [Japan]: mid-Edo.

A finely illustrated manuscript of the life of Buddha. Our manuscript is unusual for its large number of images (23 folding or double-page paintings); most surviving manuscripts have far fewer. The anonymous artist is highly skilled and has used a rich palette and nuanced brushstrokes for his paintings.

“The tradition of telling the life story of the Buddha, Śākyamuni, is as old as Buddhism itself. Such accounts served as a prototype for religious biographies as a category, but at the same time, the original tale also was transformed as it was retold in different contexts. Shaka no honji 釈迦の本地, the work of hagiography…exemplifies this process. First appearing in the early Muromachi and much transcribed throughout the late medieval period, the tale spread widely during the early Edo period when printed editions proliferated. Many manuscript and printed copies survive. It was owned by a great number of temples and households and indeed was likely the most popular hagiography of the Buddha during those centuries. That is to say, for many people of the time, the story told in Shaka no honji was the story of Śākyamuni Buddha, known to them as Shaka nyorai 釈迦如来 or Shakuson 釈尊. There can be little doubt that the text was widely read and that it was adopted for the performance of ‘picture-explaining,’ or etoki 絵時き…

“Shaka no honji is a fascinating combination of traditional hagiographical elements with innovative departures. While many events are copied faithfully from earlier renditions, other scenes, including some of the most central ones, are quite novel. As the tale evolved in the Japanese context, it was shaped by themes figuring in stories about noted Japanese monks that in turn engaged concerns East Asian Buddhism developed many centuries after the death of the founder. Prime among these was the salvation of parents.”–Hank Glassman, “Shaka no Honji. Preaching, Intertextuality, and Popular Hagiography” in Monumenta Nipponica, No. 62, No. 3 (Autumn 2007), pp. 299-300 (& see the rest of this fine article).

In very good condition but with some worming throughout, touching images. Some of the worming has been carefully repaired. Preserved in a chitsu.