Page 25 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

涅槃寂静 | THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NAYDA UTTERBERG (LOTs 1-20)

The first two verses have been translated by James L Ford in
“Competing with Amida: A Study and Translation of Jokei’s
Miroku koshiki,” in Monumenta Nipponica 60, no. 1 (Spring 2005),
pp. 69 and 72. Each consists of four lines with seven characters per
line:

Those who share a [karmic] connection are one and all reborn
into the wondrous lotus pond whose waters manifest the
eight virtues. Now we, with all disciples, dedicate ourselves to
Miroku that we may achieve realization at the Dragon Flower
Assembly.

八功徳水妙花池 諸有縁者悉同生

我今弟子附彌勒 龍花會中得解脱
In accordance with the Buddha with the Brilliance of the
Sun, Moon, and Lamp, Miroku realized the samâdhi of
consciousness-only by means of which he expounded on the
seventeen stages of practice in the [Yugashiji ron 瑜伽師地論]
that is now part of the True Dharma of Shakyamuni.
我隨日月燈明佛 證得唯識三昧故
今於釋迦正法中 略説五分十七他

The third verse, at the far left, is on dark silk that has suffered
damage and is no longer legible.

Miroku (Maitreya), the Benevolent One, is the Buddha of the
Future, who now resides in the Tosotsu heaven as a bodhisattva,
awaiting final rebirth, which will take place many aeons after the
death of the historical buddha, Shakyamuni. Miroku evolved as one
of the most popular figures in Buddhism across Asia in both the
mainstream and Mahayana traditions. From the eleventh century,
the cult of Miroku received widespread popularity in Japan thanks
to the Lotus Sutra and was spurred on in the Kamakura period by
belief in the final age of the law (mappo). As Max Moerman writes,
Miroku “promises rebirth for his devotees in his Tosotsu heaven
while he is a bodhisattva, and also promises their presence at his
future sermon as Buddha, in which he will inaugurate a new golden
age” (in Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan,
ed. Ive Covaci [New York: Asia Society Museum, 2016]).

In this painting, Miroku appears in his princely form, as a
bodhisattva, in three-quarter pose, as though descending at long last
from his Tosotsu heaven on a cloud in a raigo or welcoming scene.
Brilliant rays of light issue from behind his head. He is bejewelled
and crowned, distinguished by the design of a miniature stupa at
the center of his crown. The five golden Sanskrit syllables in his
halo may represent his mantra. The primarily blue and green color
palette, and the technical details, such as delicate cut gold leaf
(kirikane) that creates exquisite patterns in the garments and halo,
reflect the style of Kamakura-period Buddhist painting.