Visions of the Dead: Kano Tan'yū's Paintings of Tokugawa Iemitsu's Dreams Author(s): Karen M. Gerhart Reviewed work(s): Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Spring, 2004), pp. 1-34 Published by: Sophia University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25066273 . Accessed: 12/12/2011 04:53 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Sophia University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Monumenta Nipponica. http://www.jstor.org Visions of the Dead Kano Tan'y?'s Paintings of Tokugawa Iemitsu's Dreams Karen M. Gerhart Secreted away in the recesses of Rinn?ji ??EEtF, the Tendai temple at Nikk? Bttj, are eight striking paintings of T?sh? Daigongen MMJt?eM (Great Avatar Illuminating the East), the deified persona of Tokugawa Ieyasu $g JlliCJ?? (1542-1616). Two others of a similar sort remain in the possession of the Tokugawa family. What distinguishes these ten paintings from other depictions of T?sh? Daigongen is that they are based on dreams that appeared to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu %% (1604-1651), during the last decade of his life. Seldom displayed, the hanging scrolls are attributed to the shogunal painter (goy? eshi fPfflf?ffl) Kano Tan'y? f?WW:ft (1602-1674) and were likely pro duced following written or verbal notations from Iemitsu.