Page 380 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

notably concentrate on the human drama, con- in the traditional Chinese scholar's cap and robe. pictorial expression of piety and wisdom. The
trasting in this respect too with the elaborate set- He leans forward eagerly, resting his right arm subject was exported to Japan in the early seventh
tings, whether landscape or architectural, of the on a carved wooden arm rest, a fly whisk in his century, and the Yuima Kyo was reportedly one
more sophisticated traditional modes. This con- right hand. The inscription by Sonko Somoku of the favorite texts of Shotoku Taishi (574-622),
centration of effect is particularly evident in the records that the painting was commissioned by the prince-regent who ensured the triumph
Dojo-ji Engi scrolls. S.E.L Priest Zensai in offering for his deceased father's of Buddhism in Japan during the Asuka period
salvation. The painting therefore may date (552-645).
slightly earlier than the inscription, but not sig- The ink painting image of Yuima owes much to
22O nificantly so. Chinese representations of the Northern Song
Yuima, the Japanese name for the
Indian sage
Bunsei Vimalakirti, became a popular subject in Chinese period, particularly to a type associated with the
of monochrome line painting Li
great
master
active mid-i5th century
art as early as 642, the date of a fresco at Dun- Gonglin (Li Longmian, c. 1049-1106). Bunsei's
THE LAYMAN YUIMA (YuiMA KOJI) huang, in northwest China, in which he appears. origins are not clear, but this work, a landscape in
By the time of this early work the image type the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and landscapes
dated to 1457 was already set according to the account in the in the Takano collection, all bearing Bunsei's seal,
Japanese Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra (J: Yuima Kyo), seem to point either to a Korean origin for the
hanging scroll; ink on paper reputedly of the second century A.D. In this text artist or at least to Korea as a major influence on
l
92. 7 x 34.4 (i6 /2 x 1^/2) Yuima is ill, and the Buddha has sent Manjusri his art (as it was on the art of his more famous
inscription by Sonko Somoku (d. 1467)
references: Yashiro 1960, 2:361; Tanaka 1972, 89, (J: Monju), Bodhisattva of Wisdom, to inquire and equally mysterious colleague, Shubun).
fig. 78; Matsushita 1974, 93, 94, fig. 96 after him. Yuima explains his infirmity as the Yuima's face in Bunsei's masterpiece is one of
sickness common to all mankind, that is, the suf- the most expressive in East Asian ink painting,
Yamato Bunkakan, Nara fering born of ignorance and appetite. This Bud- reflecting to a remarkable degree pain, age, and
dhist sentiment, added to his character as an aged contemplation. The washes suggesting facial hair
In this famous and extraordinary work the Bud- scholar, endeared him to the Chinese, and his are most subtle, as if breathed upon the paper.
dhist lay philosopher-scholar Yuima (S: Vimala- image as an elderly literatus reclining on a dais The folds and creases of the cloth, in both cap and
kirti) is represented bearded and intense, and clad with an arm rest for support became a common gown, are less realistic observations than true

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