Nichiren Praying for Rain at Ryōzengasaki in Kamakura in 1271

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Japanese, 1798 - 1861

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1831, reproduced early 20th century

Woodcut on paper

A later reproduction

Overall: 10 1/4 × 15 5/16 in. (26 × 38.9 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Given in honor of Zachary Gimbel Lehman, Class of 1995, by his parents

PR.995.64.4

Portfolio / Series Title

From the Series Concise Illustration of the Life of Nichiren

Geography

Place Made: Japan, East Asia, Asia

Period

19th century

Object Name

Print

Research Area

Print

Not on view

Label

This print is among the ten images Kuniyoshi (as part of the larger Utagawa school/clan, he is referred to by his first name to distinguish him from his peers) created to celebrate Nichiren, one of the most influential monks in 13th-century Japan. This scene captures Nichiren’s profound religious faith, which prompted him to commune with nature. Amidst the severe drought in Kamakura in 1271, Nichiren prayed for rain, and three consecutive days of downpour then ended the region’s famine. With the heavy rainfall depicted in straight lines and the roaring waves below the cliff, Kuniyoshi creates a dramatic mingling of the faithful monk’s spirituality and the (responsive) forces of nature around him.

Title
高祖御一代略図
[Kōso goichidai ryakuzu]
文永八鎌倉霊山ヶ崎雨祈
[Bun'ei hachi Kamakura Ryōzengasaki ame inoru]

 
Artist signature
一勇斎国芳画

[Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga]
Picture by Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi

From the 2024 exhibition Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art, curated by Haely Chang, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art

Provenance

Arnold L. and Pamela G. Lehman, Baltimore, Maryland; given to present collection, 1995.

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