安底羅大将図像(付.裏書)|Anchira-taisho Jochi

Unknown

1164 · Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper · Asian Art

The subject of this iconographic drawing, which originally belonged to Kōzanji, a temple in the mountains northwest of Kyoto, is generally identified as General Anchira (Andira in Sanskrit), one of the twelve guardian generals who dedicated themselves to the Yakushi (Bhaishajyaguru) Buddha. The twelve generals are usually crowned with the twelve animals of the zodiac; here, Anchira has a rabbit on his head. The drawing was executed with exceptional care. According to a document accompanying the scroll, it was copied by Jōchi from a Chinese model in 1164. Inscriptions in the painting indicate specific colors iconographically associated with this deity.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1164

Medium

Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975