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Lot Essay
This handscroll is an exact replica of Chapter 26 (the chapter of the Dharanis, or divine spells) of the famous Heian-period Lotus Sutra known as the Heike Nogyo (the sutra dedicated by the Heike, or Taira family). The set of thirty-three lavishly decorated scrolls was dedicated to Itsukushima Shrine in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori, and is now registered as a National Treasure. The simple frontispiece illustration of Chapter 26 shows people who read or worshipfully listen to the Lotus Sutra and the heavenly beings who protect them. The text section and back of the scroll are elaborately painted and decorated with gold and silver leaf.
The scroll is not signed, but can only be the work of one man, Tanaka Shinbi, an acclaimed craftsman and restorer trained in the traditional yamato-e style of painting. Shinbi was so good that he was commissioned to copy almost every major narrative handscroll. In 1920 the head priest of Itsukushima Shrine asked him to make a complete copy of the Heike Nogyo; the project, which took nearly six years to complete, was funded through the efforts of the collector Masuda Takashi (1848-1938), director of the Mitsui conglomerate. At least one extra set was made. For Shinbi and Masuda see Christine Guth, Art, Tea, and Industry: Masuda Takashi and the Mitsui Circle (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993); and Meiho kankokai, comp., Tanaka Shinbi: Heian-cho bi no sosei ni sasageta hyakunen no seijun (Tanaka Shinbi: A hundred-year life devoted to the revival of Heian-period art) (Tokyo: Tendensha, 1985). Tanaka Shinbi described his working techniques in "Techniques of the Heike Nogyo," Bijutsu kenkyu 47 (November 1935): 514-17.
A decorated-paper sutra scroll attributed to Tanaka Shinbi was sold in these Rooms, 23 March, 1999, lot 72.
The scroll is not signed, but can only be the work of one man, Tanaka Shinbi, an acclaimed craftsman and restorer trained in the traditional yamato-e style of painting. Shinbi was so good that he was commissioned to copy almost every major narrative handscroll. In 1920 the head priest of Itsukushima Shrine asked him to make a complete copy of the Heike Nogyo; the project, which took nearly six years to complete, was funded through the efforts of the collector Masuda Takashi (1848-1938), director of the Mitsui conglomerate. At least one extra set was made. For Shinbi and Masuda see Christine Guth, Art, Tea, and Industry: Masuda Takashi and the Mitsui Circle (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993); and Meiho kankokai, comp., Tanaka Shinbi: Heian-cho bi no sosei ni sasageta hyakunen no seijun (Tanaka Shinbi: A hundred-year life devoted to the revival of Heian-period art) (Tokyo: Tendensha, 1985). Tanaka Shinbi described his working techniques in "Techniques of the Heike Nogyo," Bijutsu kenkyu 47 (November 1935): 514-17.
A decorated-paper sutra scroll attributed to Tanaka Shinbi was sold in these Rooms, 23 March, 1999, lot 72.