Kokawa-dera Engi Emaki

Originating in Japan in the sixth or seventh century through trade with the Chinese Empire, art spread widely among the aristocracy in the Heian period. An consists of one or more long scrolls of paper narrating a story through texts and paintings. The reader discovers the story by progressively unrolling the scroll with one hand while rewinding it with the other hand, from right to left (according to the then horizontal writing direction of Japanese script), so that only a portion of text or image of about is visible. The narrative assumes a series of scenes, the rhythm, composition and transitions of which are entirely determined by the artist's sensitivity and technique. The themes of the stories were very varied: illustrations of novels, historical chronicles, religious texts, biographies of famous people, humorous or fantastic anecdotes, etc. The narrative paintings, and especially the telling the story of the founding of temples or the lives of famous monks, were also fertile ground for Buddhist proselytism. ==Description==

The recounts the miraculous origins of the temple, founded in 770 according to legend, and its main figure, a statue of with a thousand arms (). The origins and foundation of Buddhist temples ( in Japanese) was a classic subject of , often with a proselytising purpose of reaching as many people as possible. The work consists of a single scroll of paper, high by long, organised into four short calligraphic sections and five long painting areas, but the start of the scroll (precisely the first calligraphic section and a piece of the first painting) was burned in a fire, and the remaining parts are partially damaged at the edges. The legend related by the work is based on the two parts of the text of (The Legends of ). The first part of the text tells the tale of a hunter named from Kii Province in the 8th century. Several nights in a row, with a thousand arms revealed himself to this hunter by a strange light, so much so that decided to build him a temple there. A young ascetic promised him to carve a statue in seven days for this sanctuary; it is the statue of from temple. The second part of the text describes a miracle associated with this statue. In legend, a young monk one day healed the sick daughter of a wealthy man with prayers. Refusing the money offered as a thank you, he only accepted a knife and a red as a reward, saying he was going back to his home in , Kii Province. The wealthy man and his family made a pilgrimage there the following year. Going up the course of the River, they discovered the shrine and the image of Kannon with a thousand arms, adorned with the dagger and the red . They then concluded the miracle by understanding that the young monk was none other than the manifestation of , and decided to devote their lives to following the path of Buddhism. ==Dating and author==

The creation date and author of the work are unknown, but it is commonly dated to the end of the 12th century (either late in the period (794–1185) or at the beginning of the period (1185–1333)). Specialists are divided on the possible existence of an older version or a study. ==Style and composition==

The paintings in the are in the style, ie in accordance with the Japanese approach to painting that developed during the period by deviating from Chinese canons. The work also belongs to the subgenre, which is characterized by dynamic paintings with light color and continuous narrative rhythm, as opposed to the paintings of the (Court-style) subgenre, which are more decorative and emotional. There are few other extant examples of works dating from the 12th century, but they include the , the and the . It is highly probable that these works from the end of the 12th century are relatively contemporary in relation to each other; Glum puts forward the hypothesis, from an analysis of the styles of each scroll, that the would be subsequent to the and prior to the and the . The paintings also observe a regular composition in three planes: a natural foreground (rocks, trees) serving to create depth in the scene; the figures and landscape elements (buildings, roads, fields, etc.) of the story occupying the entire center; and finally a distant and stylized landscape at the top of scroll. This composition is inspired by the canons of Chinese art of the Tang dynasty with typically Japanese variations. The unrealistic perspective is classically based on parallel lines and the point of view is always the same, slightly elevated at the front. On the other hand, the lines and outlines in ink are finer and less free than in the other works. Here, the lines are characterized by their simplicity; landscape elements are stylised and used mainly to mark transitions between scenes. The narration is based on the repetition of scenes, fundamentally almost unchanged like the representation of the temple or the hunter's hut, in order to illustrate a succession of consecutive events. The figures in the paintings present some peculiarities, as they are more realistic and neutral than the other of the time, such as the highly stylised Court paintings, or the and the , which are a little more expressive and caricatural. ==Historiographical value==

A mirror of society, are an important source of information on the civilisation and medieval history of Japan. This particular accurately illustrates the daily life of the Japanese at the very beginning of the period, especially in its portrayal of ordinary people and local warriors. Like the , the does not show life at Court, but life outside the Palace, another characteristic feature of works of the genre. A study by Kanagawa University presents in detail the elements of daily life illustrated by the five paintings of the scroll, including residences, clothing, activities and works, trips, food, amenities such as bridges, and also the temple. ==Provenance==

The has been owned for centuries, and is still owned, by the temple. Today it is listed in the Register of National Treasures of Japan, and is exhibited at the Kyoto National Museum. ==See also==