Painted images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, such as *
Shaka
釈迦, *
Yakushi 薬師, *
Miroku
弥勒, *
Kannon 観音, *
Jizou
地蔵, but most notably, *
Amida
阿弥陀 and his attendants, 'coming in welcome'
raigou 来迎. Where
Amida is depicted, the image is often called
Amida
raigou-zu 阿弥陀来迎図. Follwers of Pure Land Buddhism
joudokyou 浄土教 believe
that upon death
Amida and his retinue will descend from his Western Pure Land
saihou gokuraku joudo 西方極楽浄土 to earth to welcome and escort the devotee
back to his Paradise. The doctrinal basis for this belief is to be found in the
nineteen of
Amida's 48 vows enumerated in the
MURYOUJUKYOU 無量寿経 (the Larger
Sukhavatiyuha Sutra, or Sutra of Infinite Life).
Amida,
often flanked by Kannon and *
Seishi
勢至 (an image known as
Amida sanzon raigou 阿弥陀三尊来迎) and frequently accompanied
by the rest of his heavenly retinue of bodhisattvas and heavenly beings
Amida
shoujuu raigou 阿弥陀聖衆来迎, or sometimes limited to 25 bodhisattvas *
nijuugo bosatsu 二十五菩薩 (known as
Amida
nijuugo bosatsu raigou 阿弥陀二十五菩薩来迎), is usually shown in painting as descending
towards earth on a cloud that trails off on a diagonal. The emphatic
jin'un-no-Amida 迅雲阿弥陀 (swift cloud
Amida) or
hayaraigou 早来迎
(fast
raigou) type shows
Amida hastily descending
at an angle of 45 degrees, lending a degree of inevitability and immediacy to
Amida's promised salvation . In the rapid descents
Amida often stands and
is turned three-quarters to the side, but in the more gentle descents, he may
be seated displaying the *
raigou-in
来迎印 mudra and facing forward. A variant pose shows
Amida and his attendants
turned completely around and heading back to his Pure Land Paradise. This is called
the
kaeri raigou 帰り来迎 (returning
raigou).
The
earliest
raigou theme in Japan appears to have been the paintings of the
*
kubon raigou
九品来迎 (also known as
kubon oujou 九品往生), or the Nine Levels of Birth, depicted
in the bottom outside court of the *
Taima
mandara 当麻曼荼羅, also known as a *
Kangyou hensou 観経変相 (Transformation Scene
of the
KANMURYOUJUKYOU 観無量寿経) and dating back to the late 8c. Independent
kubon raigou theme appeared on the wooden doors and panels of *
amidadou 阿弥陀堂 in the early Heian period. The earliest extant example is
in Byoudouin *
Hououdou 平等院鳳凰堂 (1053), Kyoto. Also instrumental in the development
of individual
raigou paintings was the Tendai 天台 monk Genshin 源信 (942-1047), whose
OUJOUYOUSHUU 往生要集 (Essentials of Salvation) served as a guide for the
Amidist faithful, helping them in their final moments to ensure their rebirth in
Amida's
Pure Land. Genshin's vivid descriptions of the glories of
Amida and his Pure Land
inspired the creation of a different lineage of
raigou paintings and a
set of practices for the faithful as they approached death. For example, in terminal
practice (see*
rokuji myougou
六字名号), the dying believer would chant the
nenbutsu 念仏 (supplication to
Amida), lie on his bed, place his head to the north and face west, where
one or more sculptures of
Amida or an
Amida raigou painting would be strategically
placed in his line of vision. A five colored cord, like that attached to the painting
of the *
yamagoe-no-Amida
山越阿弥陀 (
Amida Coming Over the Mountain) in the Konkaikoumyouji 金戒光明寺, Kyoto, would
then be attached to the image or painting at one end and held by the devotee at
the other, thereby establishing a physical link between the two at the moment
of death.