The Awakening [Wakening] of Sakya

Tokyo: Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha, 1956. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Hardcover in dust jacket, 14 1/2" x 10 1/2". Title reads "Wakening" on dust jacket and "Awakening" on title page. Text in Japanese and English. Illustrated with 11 tipped-in colour plates of close-ups and one black and white image of the entire work. 16 pages of text in Japanese and one page of text in English: "In one of the Mahayana sutras of Buddhism, the great sadness caused by Sakya's death is described with deep poignancy. There is long weeping by Sakya's disciples and great lamenting of animals and other earthly creatures over the loss of their sublime teacher and saviour. Suddenly, the figure of the Affectionate Mother Maya descends from heaven to endow Sakya with powers to lift the lid of his casket and return to life. The Awakening of Sakya takes place as Sakya rises vigorously from his coffin with hands clasped in prayer while casting off 1100 rays from his body, each ray containing 1100 Buddhas. All the previous sadness over mundane death disappears, and there is now happiness on the features of the Mother Maya's face as Sakya attains the Enlightenment of Eternal Truth. Logically, and very effectively, the figure of Sakya is placed in the center of the composition. And in spite of its rather large size (1.6 m x 2m, painting on silk), the whole picture is very closely knit together in all its details. People, birds and animals, kings and statesmen join Sakya's followers as they surround the figures of Sakya and Maya, while angels are flying overhead. Everything is arranged to convey the sense of wonderment and happiness of this solemn moment, yet the tragicness of the previous scene can almost be felt. There is brevity in the use of strong, quick, expressive brush strokes which are decisively employed in conjunction with an elegant but firm harmony of colors. The painter of this scroll is unknown, but it is believed to have been painted in the 12th-13th century, in that period of Japanese history which enjoyed the rising of the culture of the noble classes, the Heian Period. The very solemnity of this rarely painted subject matter has helped to minimize the feeling of aesthetic sentimentality which prevailed in the art of that period. On the other hand, the inkling of splendour seen in this painting anticipated the arrival of the culture of the warrior class, and the entry into a new phase of virile activity in the field of Buddhist art." Wear and small tears at edges of dust jacket, book near fine..