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Lotus Leaves Spring 2021 Volume 23 Number 2 SOCIETY FOR ASIAN ART Lotus LeavesVolume 23 Number 2 Miraculous Cures in the Legend of the Crying F u d ¯o by Laura W. Allen 3 Spring 2021 The Yazidis, People of the Peacock Angel Mitra Ara Ph.D. 11 About the Society Board of Advisors Directors 2020–2021 The Society for Asian Art is an independent 2020–2021 Mitra Ara, PhD 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was President Terese Bartholomew, MA incorporated in 1958. The Society was Ehler Spliedt founded by a group of San Francisco citizens Patricia Berger, PhD Past President dedicated to the foundation of a museum of Trista Berkovitz M.L. Pattaratorn Asian Art in San Francisco. Since that time, Chirapravati, PhD Vice President we have been an independent nonprofit Margaret Edwards Kim Codella, PhD organization that provides programs on Asian Vice President Renee Dreyfus, PhD art and culture and supports the Asian Art Marsha Vargas Handley Penny Edwards, PhD Museum. Secretary Munis D. Faruqui, PhD For over sixty years, we have offered a wide Etsuko Kobata Kathy Foley, PhD range of innovative, high-quality educational Treasurer Karen Fraser, PhD Ed Baer and cultural programs, along with social and Robert Goldman, PhD culinary events where participants share their Edith Benay Sally Sutherland knowledge and enthusiasm. SAA's popular Margaret Booker Goldman, PhD Arts of Asia Lecture Series, open to all, has Lynne Brewer Munir Jiwa, PhD been the core of the museum's docent- Deborah Clearwaters* Sanjyot Mehendale, PhD training curriculum. We sponsor international Kalpana Desai and domestic travel, visits to private art Mary-Ann Milford- Gloria Garaventa Lutzker, PhD dealers and collections, in-depth study groups, special lectures by leading scholars, Kirk Gibson John Nelson, PhD literature courses and symposia. Much of our Thomas Ihrig Benjamin W. Porter, PhD programming supports specific exhibitions. Nancy Jacobs Sugata Ray, PhD During restrictions imposed by COVID-19, Candace Zander Kahn Stephen Roddy, PhD the SAA's programs have continued through Anne Katz Richard E. Vinograd, PhD online streaming. Phyllis Kempner John Wallace, PhD Peggy Mathers Julia White, MA Forrest McGill* John Zarobell, PhD Lawrency Mock Howard Moreland Advisors Emeriti Society John Nelson Albert Dien, PhD Debbie Wong Ottman Lewis Lancaster, PhD Pamela Royse Joanna Williams, PhD for Asian Kathleen Slobin Nazneen Spliedt Sylvia Wong Art *ex officio Miraculous Cures LOTUS LEAVES in the Legend of the Crying Fudo- By Laura W. Allen Figure 1-1 Abe Seimei performing a ritual, from Legend of the Crying Fud ¯o (Fud ¯o riyaku engi), 1333-1392. Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper, 12 ½ x 25 1/8 in. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The Avery Brundage Collection, B65D46. “…life in premodern times was defined by a twelfth century handscroll known as the Scroll - 2 illness rather than by health. Being ill or afflicted, of Afflictions (Yamai no soshi). Yet while the pic- rather than consistently healthy, was the normal tures of the Afflictions scroll are full of vivid detail, expectancy for living”—Andrew Goble 1 chronicling conditions from mild to horrific, they do not shed much light on treatments or cures. In fact, though medieval physicians had an arsenal The coronavirus pandemic reminds us of an of medicines, poultices, and other options for inconvenient truth: contagious diseases have dealing with illness,3 many people must have always been with us, a fundamental threat to relied on faith-based remedies, especially when human life. In visual art, scenes of illness can faced with intractable ailments. Illustrations of a offer a window into the varied ways society coped tale popularly known as the Legend of the Cry- with medical crises in the millennia before mod- ing Fudo- (Naki Fudo- engi) (Figure 1-1) stand out ern surgery, antibiotics, and vaccines. The best- for their focus on non-medical efforts to relieve a known depictions of illness from Japan appear in grave illness—and for the fact that visual art itself Spring 2021 Volume 23 Number 2 Copyright 2021, Society for Asian Art 3 LOTUS LEAVES Figure 1-2 Detail, Abe Seimei performing a ritual, from Legend of the Blessings Bestowed by Fud ¯o (Fud ¯o riyaku engi), 1300-1400. Handscroll; ink and colors on paper, 11 x 373 in. Tokyo National Museum. plays a role in the cure. A fragment from a four- that person. At first the disciples decline to under- teenth century version of this story, preserved take this duty, but at last a young monk named today in the Asian Art Museum (hereafter AAM) Shok- u- steps forward. The handscroll fragment collection, is the focus of this essay. in the AAM collection depicts the scene in which Seimei performs the ritual that will transfer the ill- ness from Chiko’s- body to Shok- u’s.- Figure 1-1. A tale of miraculous cures Versions of this story appear within Japanese anthologies of tales, myths, and legends (setsu- The Legend of the Crying Fudo- describes a washu-) as early as the twelfth century. Tales of technique for eliminating illness that might seem Times Now Past (Konjaku monogatarishu-), com- foreign today. It rests on a concept known as piled circa 1120, includes a story in which Abe migawari, roughly the “substitution” of one being Seimei takes credit for “curing” both Chiko- and for another—in effect, passing the disease to then subsequently Shok- u,- when he in turn falls someone else, preferably someone stronger, ill.6 By the late 1100s, however, a new storyline or possibly someone less important. The story surfaces in some versions of the tale: while Seimei begins when Chiko,- a senior monk at Miidera successfully transfers the illness from Chiko- to temple,4 falls gravely ill and summons Abe Seimei Shok- u,- it is the latter’s devotion to the Buddhist (921-1005), a practitioner of the Way of yin-yang Wisdom King Fudo- Myo-o- that saves his life rather (Onmyod- o-), to his side for help.5 Seimei informs than Seimei’s efforts.7 The climactic moment Chiko- that while he cannot alter an individual’s comes when Shok- u,- near death, prays before a karma, if a volunteer were to be found, he could painting of the deity. Tears spring forth from the perform a ritual to transfer the illness from Chiko- to god’s eyes in response to the young monk’s plight 4 Spring 2021 Volume 23 Number 2 Copyright 2021, Society for Asian Art LOTUS LEAVES Figure 1-3 Fragment from Illustrated Legend of the Crying Fud ¯o (Fud ¯o riyaku engi emaki zanketsu). Hanging scroll; colors on paper, 31.4 x 57.7 cm. Hankyu Cultural Foundation (Itsuo Art Museum), Osaka. (thus the name “Crying Fudo”),- and in an instant the ritual to transfer the illness from Chiko- to his symptoms vanish. This version of the tale Shok- u.- The Itsuo fragment depicts the scene in recurs in many later sources and was illustrated in which Shok- u- prostrates himself before a painting several medieval picture scrolls (emakimono). of Fudo,- praying for relief from his suffering. In both fragments, explanatory captions are inscribed directly on the paintings, rather than being written out on separate sections of paper as they are in Picturing the story the TNM scroll. Careful inspection of the AAM and Itsuo fragments reveals that they are actually two The oldest surviving illustration of the tale halves of a single composition: the left edge of the comes in the form of a picture scroll known as AAM fragment includes a view of the exterior of the Legend of the Blessings Bestowed by Fudo- Shok- u’s- residence, as well as a glimpse of the (Fudo- riyaku engi emaki), in the Tokyo National robe worn by a monk seated inside, details which Museum (hereafter TNM) collection (Figure 1-2).8 correspond to the composition at the right edge of Dated to the fourteenth century, the TNM scroll the Itsuo fragment. The separation of the scenes consists of three paintings interspersed with four might seem surprising, but in fact many old sections of text (kotobagaki); at least one other handscrolls have been divided up and mounted as scene was originally included, but was lost over individual hanging scrolls,10 sometimes to better time.9 A second illustrated version survives in only preserve the fragments, or for easier sale. When two fragments, one in the AAM collection (Figure these two fragments were severed is unknown. 1-1) and the other held by the Itsuo Art Museum (hereafter Itsuo) in Osaka prefecture (Figure 1-3). Two other illustrated versions of the Legend of The AAM fragment shows Abe Seimei performing the Crying Fudo- survive from the fifteenth century. Spring 2021 Volume 23 Number 2 Copyright 2021, Society for Asian Art 5 Shoj- okein- temple in Kyoto owns a version that is taboos, and to promote their well-being. Onmyoji- LOTUS LEAVES close in many respects to the TNM version but were civil servants who served at a government lacks a written text. Nara National Museum owns bureau, Onmyory- o-, which was established during what appears to be a close copy of the Shoj- okein- the Nara period (710-794). Although their profes- scroll. The two fifteenth century versions share sion drew loosely on concepts from Chinese some compositional changes with the AAM and philosophy, including the Five Elements and the Itsuo museum fragments, most significantly the concept of yin and yang, those elements “consti- size and orientation of Shok- u’s- residence, but tuted nothing more than one among many frag- their lineal relationship remains unclear.11 mentary theories upon which onmyoji- based their divination and other techniques.” The tools of their trade included “sorcery-type techniques.”15 Heian- period sources document Seimei’s attendance Faith-based cures at court, where he performed such varied tasks as selecting auspicious times and dates; tsuina The AAM and Itsuo fragments offer fascinating and henbai ceremonies to expel demons from the visual evidence of two faith-based approaches to palace; and a kiki-sai ritual to drive out illness- combatting disease.
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