A BUDDHIST PAINTING OF ‘DESCENT OF AMIDA’ Possibly Muromachi period. Painted in ink, colour, and gold on silk, depicting the Amida with twenty-five Bodhisattvas descending with the clouds, mounted as a hanging scroll, 129.5 x 64cm. Provenance: The collection of Brian Morgan (1930 – 2018), former director of Bluett and Sons, Oriental Art. 絹本著色阿弥陀二十五菩薩来迎図 of Amida (the Buddha of infinite light) and the Pure Land, are popular Buddhist images in Japan, and until the twelfth century, Amida was usually represented seated. However during the Kamakura period (1185 – 1333), the concept of (the welcoming descent) flourished and Amida became more approachable to people, depicted standing, and in action, coming down from his ‘Pure Land’ to fetch his devotees. Jyodokyo (the Pure Land Buddhism) permeated the Japanese soil during the Kamakura period, after a long war between two strong clans (the Genpei war), which resulted in a shift of power from the Emperor to Shogun (the samurai lord). People were anxious, and were seeking salvation; they wanted to be reborn in a utopia where they were free from all the sufferings in this world. In this painting, Amida is standing on a lotus pedestal in the centre, accompanied by heavenly dancers and musicians, descending on the clouds from the top left. His attendant, Kannon (Guanyin) at the front, is kneeling to offer the lotus throne on which the deceased will be transported back to the Pure Land. Numerous lotus petals and small deities are flying around them. For another example of the - painting with a similar composition is in the Shojuraigo- temple at Hiei, which is illustrated in Joji Okazaki, Jyodokyo-ga, Nihon no Bijutsu series, no 43, pl 80.