2005 Kanda

Behind the Sensationalism: Images of a Decaying
Corpse in Japanese Buddhist Art

Fusae Kanda
One of the most provocative images in Japanese art is the that this text contributed to the development of the contem-
kusiizu, a graphic depiction of a corpse in the process of decay plation on the nine stages and its pictorialization in Japan.
and decomposition. The kusiizu, "painting of the nine stages This text provided the canonical sequence of corporeal decay
ofa decaying corpse" (hereafter, painting of the nine stages), used in paintings of the genre (see App. I): (1) distension
was executed in Japan from approximately the thirteenth (chiisii); (2) rupture (kaisii); (3) exudation of blood (ketsuzusii);
through the nineteenth centuries in various formats, includ- (4) putrefaction (niiransii); (5) discoloration and desiccation
ing handscrolls, hanging scrolls, and printed books. The (seiosii); (6) consumption by animals and birds (tansii); (7)
subject itself is derived from a traditional Buddhist doctrine dismemberment (sansii}; (8) bones (kossii);and (9) parched to
that urges contemplation on the nine stages of a decaying dust (shiisii). The order stated in the Discourse on the Great
corpse (kusiikan, hereafter, contemplation on the nine Wisdom probably enteredJapanese paintings of the subject by
stages). The teaching dates to the early fifth century and means of the Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Contempla-
promotes a systematic meditation on the impurity of a decay- tion (japanese: Maka shikan, Chinese: Mohe zhiguan), re-
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ing corpse as an aid to ardent devotees who wish to liberate corded and edited by a disciple of the Chinese Tiantai (jap-
themselves from sensual desires and affections. I anese: Tendai) master Zhiyi (538-597) based on his lecture
This paper explores unrecognized features of the paintings in 594. The Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Contempla-
of the nine stages as they appear through almost half a tion, which preserved the order of decay given in the Discourse
millennium ofJapanese art. We will see that these narrative on the Great Wisdom, had a substantial impact on Pure Land
paintings functioned as distinct visual agents for audiences in Buddhist belief, including the content of the Essentials oj
different eras. The functionality of the image shifted from a Salvation (japanese: Ojiiyiishu), a seminal work of Pure Land
meditative focus for pietistic catharsis, to a didactic incentive belief written by the Japanese monk Genshin (942-1017) of
for the pursuit of paradise, to an intercessory offering for the the Tendai school in 985. 5 The description of the stages of a
dead at merit transferal rites, to a popularized platform for decaying corpse in the Essentials oj Saluation includes direct
politically manipulated precepts on feminine morality. After quotations from the Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and
giving the textual and theological background for the nine Contemplation, although the order of the stages differs (see
stages of a decaying corpse, I will examine four images of the App. I).
nine stages from different centuries, which I term the Naka- The nine stages of decay appear also in medieval literature,
mura, Raigoji, Dainenbutsuji, and Akagi versions. Finally, and a review of these passages can further illuminate the
some remarks are offered on the enduring vitality of this development of the subject. The theme is found in a verse
sensational subject. form termed "poem of the contemplations on the nine stages
of a decaying corpse" (japanese: kusiikansht). Such poems
Religious and Literary Background have survived in China as well as injapan," where two versions
A proper understanding of these images relies on a conver- existed. The Japanese poems were written in Chinese char-
sance with the doctrinal sources treating the decaying corpse acters and are attributed to the luminaries Kiikai (774-835)
as a subject for devotional practice. The contemplation on and Su Tongpo (1063-1101).7 The two poems (which can be
the nine stages, while found in many Buddhist sutras, first termed the Kiikai and Su Tongpo versions) derive their
appeared in the Sutra on the Samiidhi Contemplation oj the authority from the stature of their supposed authors: Kiikai,
Oceanlike Buddha (japanese: Kanbutsu zanmai kaikyii; Chinese: the famed Japanese monk who brought esoteric Buddhism
Guanfo sanmei hai jing, translated by Buddhabhadra [359- from China to Japan and founded the Shingon school, and
429], ca. 400) or the Discourse on the Great Wisdom Oapanese: Su Tongpo, who was a Northern Song scholar-bureaucrat as
Dai chidoron; Sanskrit: Mahaprajnaparamitita-sastra, translated well as a renowned poet and calligrapher. Both poems detail
by Kumarajiva [344-413], 402-5).2 The practice is a type of the nine stages of a decaying corpse, but in different formats
contemplation on impurity (japanese: Jujiikan) that allows and orders, and with some variation in the designations
devotees to overcome hindrances to enlightenment and to assigned to each stage (see App. I). The Kiikai version has a
conquer carnal desires, especially the sexual appetite." In the short preface followed by twelve five-eharacter verses for each
Discourse on the Great Wisdom and other texts, such as the stage, while the Su Tongpo version has a preface followed by
Chapters on the True Meaning ojMahayana Teachings Oapanese: eight seven-eharacter verses for each stage." The Su Tongpo
Daijiigishii, Chinese: Dacheng yizhang), by the Chinese monk poem is included in woodblock-printed books dated between
Hui Yuan (523-592), the love for another's body is subdi- 1380 and 13849 and in depictions of the nine stages that were
vided into multiple types, and instruction is given as to which widely circulated during the Edo period (1603-1867), with
phase of the decaying process is effective as a focus of med- examples found in printed books, hanging scrolls, and hand-
itation for conquering each lust." scrolls. (Because of its importance to the depictions of the
The Discourse on the Great WISdom is especially significant in nine stages, the poem is translated in Appendix 2.) The
IMAGES OF A DECAYING CORPSE IN JAPANESE BUDDHIST ART 25
oldest surviving illustrated handscroll inscribed with the Su their critical faculties, for attachment to the body is akin to
Tongpo poem is dated to 1527 (at Dainenbutsuji in Osaka). relishing the droppings of maggots in a toilet. 14 The narrative
As early as 1380, the poem began to be consistently accom- highlights how meditation on the decay of a corpse proved
panied by waka poetry, a verse form characterized by thirty- successful in eliminating a monk's sensual desire for the
one syllables in five strophes. For each of the nine stages, the female body through a realization of the transitory qualities
relevant verses of the Su Tongpo poem were followed by two of the human "shell." The story also suggests that the trained
waka, yielding a total of eighteen waka for the image. The monk had refined the skill of acquiring the mental image of
author and date of these waka are unknown. The Kiikai a decaying corpse without the employment of a putrescent
version, by contrast, never appeared in conjunction with the body. Accounts such as these show that contemplations on
images of corporeal decay. the corpse were a valued monastic practice in the pursuit of
As it was frequently mentioned in Buddhist sutras, the the pious life and that the decaying corpse served as a visual
practice of contemplating on a decaying corpse was adopted aid to the discipline, at least until the mental image of decay
widely by monks regardless of their sectarian affiliations. was attained and available for devotional practice.i" No jap-
Some medieval tales give accounts of contemplation on a anese medieval tales mention the use of pictorial images of
decaying corpse and reveal how monks may have performed the decaying corpse for meditation. Yet Chinese documents
the practice with visual aids. For example, a tale in A Com- recount that such images accompanied the contemplation on
panion in Solitude(Kankyo no t01TUJ, 1216), written by Keisen (d. the nine stages, and the practice likely was known among
1296), describes an anonymous monk at Mount Hiei, head- japanese monks as well. For example, Zhiyi's commentary on
quarters of the Tendai school, who disappeared every night the Lotus Sutra, the Essential Meanings of the Lotus Sutra (jap-
until moming.l'' It was thought that he might be having anese: Myoho rengekyo gengi, Chinese: Miaofa lianhuajing xua-
relations with a woman, because he always looked sad on his nyi, 593), remarks that "[the high rank of] jiiyugi [Chinese:
return. One evening the monk was followed, and it was changyouxll was given [after death] to those who have built a
discovered that he was going down to Rendaino, a region meditation hall for un [meditation] practitioners and have
renowned for its cemeteries, to meditate on a decomposing painted the image ofa corpse for conternplation.Y'' Another
corpse. I I At this time, corpses were typically left exposed in example is that of the Chinese poet Baoji (active about Censo
cemeteries or in fields, since the practice of interment did Tenpo [Chinese: Xuanzong Tianbao] 6 [747]) of the Tang
not become widespread in japan until after the fourteenth dynasty (618-907), who composed a work entitled "Contem-
century.l" The medieval account provides anecdotal confir- plation on the Mural of the Nine Stages of a Decaying
mation that Buddhist monks exercised the method of con- Corpse."l7 The mural has not survived, but the title reveals
templation on the nine stages as taught in the Discourse on the that the practice of meditating on corporeal decay also ex-
Great Annotations of Abhidharma (japanese: Abi daruma dai isted in China. It is worth noting that Baoji composed a
bibasharon, Sanskrit: Abhidharma-mahiivibhii$ii-fiistra, translated farewell poem for a japanese envoy to Tang China, which
by Xuanzang, 656-59). The procedure is outlined in this means that the method of employing these paintings for
sutra as follows: devotional contemplation could have been transmitted to
japan along with the treasured poem. IS
Practitioner, first go to a mound to observe the stages of a
decaying corpse, such as the stage of turning bluish black; The Painting of the Nine Stages in the Nakamura
for a deeper contemplation, step back and sit at a place Collection
and contemplate the image again. If the concentration is I begin our examination of this genre and its remarkable
distracted and the image is unclear, and you wish to attain transformation in japanese culture with what I believe is the
a better contemplation, again go to the mound to see it as earliest type of the image. The handscroll of the nine stages
before. 13 in the Nakamura private collection, dated to the early four-
teenth century (Fig. Ia-i, 12% by 195Vs inches, or 32 by 495.5
Another literary example of a pious monk curbing his centimeters), is generally called the Kusiishi emaki (Illustrated
sensual desires through contemplation on an impure decay- Handscroll of the Poem of the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse;
ing body is found in A Collection of Religious Awakenings hereafter, the Nakamura version). The handscroll includes
(Hosshinshu), written by Kamo no Chomei (d. 1216). It tells ten narrative illustrations, arranged from right to left. Before
the story of the monk Genpin, who fell in love with the wife the depiction of the nine stages of decay, the sequence is
of a chief councillor at first sight and confessed this to the prefaced by a portrait of a seated woman with long hair, in
councillor. Since the chief councillor greatly respected Gen- aristocratic attire, clearly a rendering of the painting's subject
pin, he arranged a rendezvous for the monk and his wife. before death (Fig. 2). Between her red lips, the white teeth
Genpin appeared in formal clerical attire for their meeting. covered by black pigment-a custom among aristocratic
He never attempted to approach the woman but only gazed women-are visible. 19 The predeath portrait suggests that the
on her for about two hours and then left. The chief council- subject relished her beauty and wealth, a characterization
lor's reverence for Genpin deepened, seeing that the pious expressed as well in the subsequent first stage of the newly
monk overcame his sensual desires by contemplating on the deceased (Fig. 1a).20 In this stage, she lies with her head
process of decay of the impure body of a beautiful woman. As supported by a pillow on a raised tatami mat with ornamental
a result of his contemplation, Genpin achieved an enlighten- trimmings. Her leaf-patterned undergarment covers most of
ment in which he realized that people incapable of such her naked white body but leaves her right breast exposed, a
self-control who indulge in transitory sensual desires lose distinctive feature of the Nakamura version.F! The first two
26 .-\RT Bl·LLF.T1r\ MARCH 200', HlIXMF. LXXXVII Xl·~IBF.R UMBER 1 I
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11 Illustrated Handscroll of the

the Poem of the
the Nine
Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse, 14th
14th century.
century. Kanagawa,
Kanagawa, Nakamura
Nakamura ColIection
Collection (photo:
(photo: Tokyo
Tokyo
National Museum). Stages one through nine, nine, arranged
arrangedrightto newly deceased; (b) distension; (c) rupture; (d) exudation
right to left: (a) newly
of blood; (e) putrefaction; (f) discoloration and and desiccation; (g)
(g} consumption by birds andand animals; (h) skeleton; (i)
(i) disjointing.
Downloaded by
illustrations seem
illustrations seem to to emphasize
emphasize aa sensual sensual attractiveness
attractiveness ly." The
ly.23 The order
orderof the stages
of the stages of
of decay
decay inin the
the handscroll
handscrollis as
is as
springing from
springing from thethe woman's
woman’s voluptuous
voluptuous figurefigure and
and noble
noble follows (see
follows (see App.
App. I): 1): (0)
(0) predeath
predeath portrait;
portrait; (I) (1) newly
newly de-de-
background. In
background. In arousing
arousing an an interest
interest in in the
the young
young beauty
beauty ceased; (2) (2) distension; (3) (3) rupture; (4) exudation of blood;
before delivering
before delivering itsits lesson
lesson on on taming
taming desire,
desire, the
the image
image am- am- (5) putrefaction; (6) discoloration and desiccation; (7) con-
plifies its cathartic value.
plifies its cathartic value. sumption by birds and animals; (8) skeleton; and (9) disjoint-
In the
In the third
third through
through tenth
tenthillustrations,
illustrations, aa highly
highly realistic
realistic ing. The
ing. The closest
closest match
match of of the
the order
order ofof decay
decay in in the
the Nakamura
Nakamura
process of decay unfolds in the scroll. The realism is
process of decay unfolds in the scrolI. The realism is cruelIy
cruelly version is
version is to
to the
the description
description of of the
the Discourse
Discourse on on Mahayana
Mahayana
accentuated in
accentuated in several
several ways.
ways. Each
Each corpse
corpse looms
loomslarge
large in in its
its Meditation and
Meditation and Contemplation,
Contemplation, but but with
with aa few
few differences.
differences. An An
frame of
frame of 12%
12% byby 19%
19% inches
inches (32(32 byby 50
50 centimeters),
centimeters), leaving
leaving image of
image of the
the newly
newly deceased
deceased was was inserted
inserted as as the
the first
first stage
stage ofof
little background,
little background, aggressively
aggressively confronting
confronting the the viewer
viewerwith
with itsits the Nakamura
the Nakamura version,
version, andandto limit the
to limit the total
total number
numberto nine,
to nine,
image of
image of corporeal
corporeal decay.
decay. Given
Given the thescroll’s precise anatom-
scroll's precise anatom- the ninth
the ninth stage
stage ofof bones
bones being
being parched
parched to to dust
dust was
was omiued."
omitted.”*
ical depictions,
ical depictions, itit has
has been
been suggested
suggested that that this
this scroll
scroll follows
follows Another, more moresignificant,
significant, difference is found found in in the eighth
eighth
the decomposition
the decomposition processprocess of of an
an actual,
actual, observed
observed corpse.f"
corpse.”* II stage. According
stage. Accordingto the text,
to the text, in
in the
the stage
stage of
of dismemberment,
dismemberment,
agree with
agree with this
this view,
view, and
and the
theillustrationsin
illustrations in the the sixth
sixth (Fig.
(Fig. If)
1f) “the head and
"the and hands
handsare are located in in different places, and and five
five
and eighth
and eighth stages
stages (Fig.
(Fig. Ih)
1h) provide
provide especially
especially compelling
compelling organs are
organs are detached
detached from from the
the body
body and
and shrunken.t''"
shrunken.””° The The
visual evidence
visual evidence that
that there
there hadhad been
been aa model
model forfor these
these images.
images. Nakamura version
Nakamura version doesdoes notnot show
show the
the stage
stage of of dismember-
dismember-
The painting
The painting ofofthe sixth stage
the sixth stage captures
captures the the network
networkof sinews
of sinews ment. Instead,
ment. Instead,it displays two
it displays two different
different forms
forms of of bones
bones in in the
the
and muscles
and muscles that
that appear
appear underunder the the parched
parched skin.
skin. The
The com-
com- eighth (Fig.
eighth (Fig. Ih)
1h) and
and ninth
ninth stages
stages (Fig.
(Fig. Ii):
li): aa whole
whole skeleton
skeleton
plete skeleton
plete skeleton in in the
the eighth
eighth stage
stage waswas drawn
drawn with
with aa precise,
precise, and aa disjointing
and disjointing of of the
the bones.
bones. Thus,
Thus,the key to
the key to interpreting
interpreting
confident brush.
confident brush. It is likely
It is likely that
that the
the artist
artist availed
availed himself
himself of of the divergent
the divergent order
order of of decay
decay inin the
the Nakamura
Nakamura version
versionlies in
lies in
the unburied
the unburied corpses
corpses that that were
were prevalent
prevalent in in Japan
Japan at at this
this the reason
the reason forfor articulating
articulating two two forms
forms of of the
the skeleton
skeleton and and
time.
time. omitting the
omitting the stage
stage ofof dismemberment.
dismemberment.
The relation
The relation ofof the
the order
order of of the
the nine
nine stages
stages inin the
the Naka-
Naka- As we
As we have
have noted,
noted, descriptions
descriptions of of the
the nine
nine stages
stages of of aa
mura version
mura version toto textual
textual sources
sources has has been
been interpreted
interpreted various-
various- decaying corpse
decaying corpse areare found
found in in many
many Buddhist
Buddhist sources.
sources. TheThe
2 Predeath portrait of an aristocrat

woman, from Illustrated HandscroU of

the Poem of the Nine Stages of a Decaying
Corpse, 14th century
texts vary in their ordering and description of the decompo- specific sequence of concentrations on particular objects that
sition process, but three share an identical sequence: the help the practitioner to achieve a state of inner bliss. One of
Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Contemplation, the Dis- the methods for acquiring the transcendental state was con-
course on the Great Wisdom, and the Explanations of theDoctrines templation on a decaying body.28
on Meditation fur Enlightenment (japanese: Shakuzen haramitsu The Sutra of theSecrets fur theEssential Wayof Meditation is one
shidai hiimon, Chinese: Shichan bolomi cidi famen, by Zhiyi, of the oldest texts for zen practice, and it no doubt influ-
568-75). The lack of consistency among the surviving enced later meditative practices. In fact, the content of the
documents may indicate that the order itself was not critical. sutra was incorporated into actual zen practices. Inside Caves
While the subtitles given to each of the nine stages vary 20 and 42 of the Toyuk Caves, Turfan, Xinjiang Province,
among the sources, the designations share similar meanings China, mural paintings dated to between the mid-fifth and
for each of the relevant stages, with one obvious exception. the seventh centu~ show the substantial impact of the
Some sources specify one stage relating to bones, and oth- surra.'? Both caves have extant images of monks contemplat-
ers include two such stages: a whole skeleton and disjointed ing on a decaying body and on a skeleton (Fig. 3).3\ Thus, it
bones. For sources mentioning a single stage of bones, the is clear that from early times monks meditated on bones and
texts refer to either a whole skeleton or disjointed bones.
(especially) on the whole skeleton as part of zen practice.
For sources that give contemplations on two stages of
The significance of the practice is reinforced by the emphasis
bones, the whole skeleton and the disjointed bones are des-
given to the contemplation of the whole skeleton in other
ignated as distinct objects for meditation in two sequential
meditation manuals. 32
stages. In these sources, the stage of dismemberment is omit-
The two stages of skeletal bones also owe their provenance
ted to allow for the inclusion of two contemplations on
to the Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Contemplation.
different forms of bones. What could have motivated the
The skeleton in the handscroll is depicted in pink, as if it had
distinct contemplations on a whole skeleton and the sepa-
rated bones? just lost its fleshy tissue. The pink hue (Fig. lh) is clearly
Sequential contemplations on the whole skeleton and on distinguished from the pure white color of the disjointed
the disjointed bones are found in six Buddhist textual sourc- bones in the following stage (Fig. Ii). The distinction in color
es: the Sutra of the Secrets fur the Essential Way of Meditation between the two stages closely resembles the description of
(Japanese: ZenpiyohOkyo, Chinese: Chan miyaofajing. translated the eighth stage found in the text: "Contemplate on the two
by Kumarajiva, ca. 400), the Sutra of theEssentials of Meditation kinds of bones: the one kind that is still covered by pus, and
(Japanese: Zenyogyo, Chinese: Chan yaojing, translated before the other kind that is completely pure white. Or meditate on
220), the Chapters on the True Meaning of Mahayana Teachings, a set of bones, or their changing into disjointed fragments.,,33
the Su Tongpo and Kiikai versions of the poems on a decay- Further evidence that attests to the central role of the
ing corpse, and the Essentials of Salvation. 26 None of these six Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Contemplation in the
texts includes a stage of dismemberment. Among them, the creation of the images in the Nakamura version is found in
Sutra of the Secrets fur the Essential Way of Meditation and the the zen practices as outlined in the text itself. Two different
Sutra of the Essentials of Meditation are the oldest meditation levels of contemplation on the nine stages are described. The
manuals characterized by meticulous instructions in zen lower level is contemplation on all stages up through the
(Sanskrit: dhyana) practicer" This zen meditation entails a ninth, when the bones are parched to dust. The text notes,
28 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2005 VOLUME LXXXVII Nl"MBER I
3 A monk contemplating on a
skeleton, Cave 42, Toyuk Caves,
Turfan, ca. mid-5th-7th century
(photo: courtesy of H. Sudo)
The practitioners who meditate in this way just seek to on scholarship that viewed the handscroll as an illustration of
curtail their sufferings by trying to make the skeleton burn the Su Tongpo poem on the nine stages. 36 Yet no texts of the
and disappear. They are in a rush to reach the fruit of poem are attached to the illustrations, and no companion
arhatship [state ofliberation], and are no longer enjoying handscroll containing the poem has survived, if it existed at
the meditation on the phenomenal aspect of reality. Since all. I argue against this traditional view of the connection
they do not continue to contemplate the skeleton, they between the image and the poem because of the scroll's
have no way to reach concentration, transcendental fac- transparent connection with the Discourse on Mahayana Med-
ulty, transformation, vows, wisdom, and the highest level itation and Contemplation. In fact, on the lid of the wooden
ofzen. 34 case for the Nakamura version, the inscription reads, "Kusiizu
(painting of the nine stages ofa decaying corpse) painted by
The upper level of contemplation, by contrast, ends before
Tosa Mitsunobu [active ca. 1469-1523] at Saito [Western
the stage of bones parched to dust. The reason for this
Pagoda], Jakkoin." jakkoin is a subsidiary temple of Enrya-
enigmatic truncation is now obvious, as contemplation on
kuji, the main temple of the Tendai school on Mount Hiei, in
bones allows the practitioner to attain a transcendental level
Shiga Prefecture.Y which early on placed an emphasis on the
of meditation that brings the ultimate inner bliss. The Naka-
zen contemplative practice.
mura version follows the upper level of contemplation out-
It is likely that the Tendai school's early and deep associ-
lined in the discourse, as it ends with emphasis on the stage
ation with zen meditation led to the creation of an image at
of the disjointed bones and does not depict the stage of
bones parched to dust. 35 Instead, a long blank space (13% Mount Hiei for ascetic practices that predated the four-
inches, or 35 centimeters) is left at the end of the scroll after teenth-century Nakamura version.i" This supposition is cor-
the last illustration, as if indicating that there is another stage roborated by an entry in the historical chronicle Mirror of the
in the text. Thus, we see that while the Nakamura version Eastern Court (Azuma kagami) for the eighth day of the elev-
carefully follows the content of the Discourse on Mahayana enth month of 1212 (Kenryaku 2).39The document recounts
Meditation and Contemplation, it was adjusted specifically to that a painting entitled the Flourish and Decay ofthe Life of Ono
follow the upper level of contemplation for the utilitarian no Komachi (Ono no Komachi ichigo josui no koto) was shown at
purpose of zen practice. No records have survived to verify a picture competition held at the residence of the shogun
the use of the Nakamura version itself, yet the scroll retains Minamoto no Sanetomo, and it received the first-place prize.
the pictorial elements of a prototype employed by monks in The painting of the ninth-century poet and legendary beauty
their ascetic meditative practices for overcoming sensual de- is believed to have been an image of the nine stages of a
sires and, ultimately, for achieving a transcendental state. Let decaying corpse. In fact, the Nakamura version was once
us consider the functions of the Nakamura version in detail. identified as this work in a Tokyo National Museum exhibi-
The Nakamura version's traditional title, Kusoshi emaki (IL- tion catalog of 1974. 40 A lack of strong evidence in support of
lustrated Handscroll of the Poem of the Nine Stages of a Decaying the identification, however, resulted in the removal of this
Corpse), is not original but was given to the work in 1977 based title for the painting. Nonetheless, the account suggests the
existence of the earlier graphic depiction of the decaying version is found in a set of fifteen hanging scrolls with paint-
corpse of a beauty, which could have been the model for the ings that show selected scenes of pain, suffering, and torment
Nakamura version. from the six realms of reincarnation. Four of the fifteen
Later, the contemplation on the nine stages became asso- scrolls treat the human realm and illustrate the aspects of
ciated with the Zen sect that focused on meditation practice. existence: corporeal impurity, the suffering of birth and
The biography of Muso Soseki (1275-1351), a prominent death, the suffering of war, and life's transience. The scroll
Zen monk, tells us that he used a painting of the nine stages illustrating corporeal impurity is entitled Painting ofthe Impure
at age fourteen in 1288.4 1 Thus, the image was known as a Aspect of the Human Realm (jindO fujozu, Fig. 4, 61 v.. by 25%
pictorial aid within the Zen monastic community. In addi- inches, or 155.5 by 65 centimeters) and will be referenced
tion, the two successive contemplations on the skeletal bones, hereafter as the Raigoji version.
an essential practice in the zen texts, are mentioned in the It should be noted that the concept of the six realms of
two apocryphal Kiikai and Su Tongpo versions of the poems reincarnation was at first doctrinally independent from the
on the nine stages. Nakamura Hajime has suggested that the contemplation on the nine stages. Nonetheless, the pictori-
poems were composed by monks at the primary Zen temples alization of the stages of a decaying corpse was selected in the
in Kyoto called the Five Mountains/" If true, the practice of Raigoji version because it expressed the impurity of the hu-
two discrete contemplations on skeletal bones had been ab- man realm. The connection between the contemplation on
sorbed by the Zen monastic community. From its locus of the nine stages and the six realms of existence stems from the
origin in the Tendai school, the image of the nine stages Essentials of Salvation, 44 and while Genshin does not enumer-
began to spread beyond sectarian boundaries throughout ate the nine stages themselves, the awful scenes of the six
medieval Japan. realms of existence in the Raigoji version refer to the content
After its involvement with Zen, the Tendai school at Mount of this text. In fact, the inscriptions in the cartouches at the
Hiei went on to introduce Pure Land Buddhist belief to top of each scroll were taken from Genshin's treatise.
Japan. The first exponent of the new belief, which flourished In this image, which has suffered some fading over the last
from the late tenth century, was the Tendai monk Genshin, seven hundred years, the nine stages of a decaying female
who wrote a seminal work on the Pure Land faith entitled the corpse are arranged in a zigzag fashion from the first illus-
Essentials of Salvation. This treatise, which became the major tration (newly deceased, Fig. 5) at upper right to the ninth
work for the promulgation of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, illustration (bones, Fig. 6) in the lower right corner, in the
provided a new doctrinal and functional context for the following order (see App. 1): (1) newly deceased; (2) disten-
image of the decaying corpse. sion; (3) rupture; (4) exudation of blood; (5) putrefaction;
(6) discoloration and desiccation; (7) consumption by birds
The Painting of the Nine Stages at Shoju Raigoji and animals; (8) dismemberment; and (9) bones. The order
Another early painting of the nine stages, dated to the late of decay after distension follows that of the Discourse on Ma-
thirteenth century, is from a set of fifteen paintings entitled hayana Meditation and Contemplation, which influenced the
Six Realms ofReincarnation (RokudOe) at Shoju Raigoji in Shiga Essentials of Salvation. 45 The subject of the decaying corpse is
Prefecture. Although this image is the earliest surviving work itself lurid, and the images in this painting are rendered in a
of the subject, I believe it represents an interpretation that realistic and unabashed manner. Yet the pictorial details of
postdates the type seen in the Nakamura version. A careful the Raigoji painting fail to match either the natural process
study of this work elucidates the entry of the theme into Pure of human decomposition or the descriptions in the sutras.
Land Buddhist imagery and clarifies the functions of this For example, it makes only a minimal visual distinction be-
example of the genre. tween the second stage of rupturing to the third of exuding
In order to understand the image, we need to take a brief blood, with a nearly identical body differentiated only by the
plunge into Pure Land Buddhist cosmology. After death, casual application of red pigment in the third stage. The fifth
living beings are thought to be reincarnated into one of six stage of putrefaction (Fig. 7), according to the sutras, should
realms- hell, hungry ghosts, animals, titans, human beings, depict the deformed corpse as if it were "wax melted by
and divine beings-and they remain trapped in these realms fire. "46 But in this image the corpse shows a desiccated state
if they fail to attain their rebirth in the Western Pure Land, that is closer to the sixth stage (Fig. 8), when the color
the otherworldly place where the deceased reside with Amida changes to bluish black through exposure to the wind and
Buddha. To give guidance to those who wish to be emanci- sun. In addition, the images of both the fourth and fifth
pated from the cycle of reincarnation, one chapter of Gen- stages, executed in sketchy brushstrokes, have a cartoonlike
shin's Essentials of Salvation promotes a practice of contem- quality. The seventh stage, of consumption by birds and
plation on the horrifying aspects of the six realms. It is in the animals (Fig. 9), is marked by full, white flesh that mimics the
context of devotional contemplation on horror that our illustration of the newly deceased, with no apparent recollec-
present image will find its locus of visual agency. The six tion of the bluish black skin and desiccation of the previous
realms of existence are treated in a set of paintings at the stage. 47 Thus, the Raigoji version captures the outline of the
Shoju Raigoji, a Tendai Buddhist temple. The images com- nine stages of a decaying female corpse and delivers a voy-
plemen ted the agenda of the Essentials ofSalvation, and in fact euristic sensationalism derived from the pictorialization of
the scrolls have had a long association with the Pure Land the shocking motif, but it ignores textual and biological
Buddhist belief within the Tendai school. They have been accuracy in the portrayal of the process of decay as described
housed in the Tendai temples at Reisan'in (from 1313 to in doctrine, including the influential Discourse on Mahayana
1538) and at Shoju Raigoji (from 1566 to the presentr." This Meditation and Contemplation.
-J
30 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2005 VOLUME LXXXVII NUMBER I
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8 Detail of Fig. 4: discoloration and desiccation
5 Detail of Fig. 4: newly deceased

9 Detail of Fig. 4: consumption by birds and animals
6 Detail of Fig. 4: bones summarizes the entire section on the impure aspect of the
human realm. The summary suggests that the painting was
created not to focus on a step-by-step contemplation of the
decomposition process but to convey the impurity of the
human realm. A deeper knowledge of human defilement led
to greater faith in Amida, as devotees sought escape from this
world through rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Hence, the
execution of the Raigoji version was in accord with the devo-
tional purpose of the companion section of the Essentials of
Salvation, and both works were created to inspire faith in
Amida by describing the foulness of human existence.
The Raigoji version has a significant pictorial element-the
landscape-that cannot be explained by religious texts. The
7 Detail of Fig. 4: putrefaction hilly terrain in the Raigoji version is characterized by two
noteworthy features. First, the soft contours of low hills are
delineated with a minimum of textured strokes executed with
a flat brush, the ha1lmarks of an archaic style of traditional
The painting has a rectangular cartouche at the upper
japanese painting called yamato-e, which attained its fullest
right comer with an inscription derived from Censhin's Es-
development in the last quarter of the twelfth century. How-
sentials of Salvation (Fig. 10):
ever, the attempt to create a sense of depth dates the painting
The human realm has three aspects. One is the impure to sometime about 1300. The landscape was colored mainly
aspect. The body is largely filled with impurity. It is in dark ocher, with occasional areas in malachite green.
wrapped by seven layers of skin and nurtured by six tastes. Color tones between ocher and black (often with sparks of
But it is entirely odorous and defiled, and eventually pu- red), employed in a majority of the paintings of the six realms
trefies from its attributes. If it is discarded between of transmigration, serve to convey the gloomy atmosphere of
mounds, after one to seven days the body is swollen, the these defiled domains tainted by violence, illness, torture,
color is changed, and the skin is peeled. Before this aspect misery, and a zoo of evils. The dark ocher in the Raigoji
is seen, the attachment to affections is strong. But, if it is version provides a backdrop of barren, desolate ground on
seen, a1l desires [for the body] cease. 48 which the solitary corpse has been discarded, heightening
the sense of man's transitory existence. The second signifi-
This inscription is not a verbatim quotation of the stages of a cant aspect of the landscape is the depiction of three trees,
decaying corpse as they are described in the text; rather, it each a conventional emblem of its season, overhanging the
11 Detail of Fig. 4: grave marker
10 Detail of Fig. 4: cartouche

for the fifth and ninth stages contain terms related to au-
tumn: shiain (long autumn rains) and akikaze (autumn wind).
corpse: cherry (spring), pine (summer), and maple (au- The painting shows the maple tree arranged directly over the
tumn). The cherry tree stands over the second stage of the fifth stage of the decaying corpse. The close correspondence
distended corpse, the pine over the third of the ruptured evidences that the Raigoji painting was created by referring
corpse, and the maple over the fourth of the corpse exuding specifically to the Su Tongpo poem rather than the Kiikai
blood. The trees symbolize the passage of time and provide a version, which includes no linear progression of seasonal
metaphoric correspondence to the stages of the corpse's changes during the process of decay. 52
decomposition. The other noteworthy feature of the landscape in the
The salient features of the landscape in the Raigoji version, Raigoji painting, the desolate hills rendered mainly in ocher
desolation and seasonal trees, appear to be derived from Su and some green, is also described in the Su Tongpo poem.
Tongpo's poem of the contemplations on the nine stages of For example, the verse for the second stage (distension)
a decaying corpse (see App. 2).49 Although the poem was not reads,
written on the scroll, the painting seems to refer to its verses
for the landscapes, probably because the Discourse on Maha- The distension of the newly deceased is hard to identify.
yana Meditation and Contemplation gives no topographical de- After only seven days, mere vestiges of the [original] ap-
scriptions.P" Consider, for example, the association between pearance remain. The rosy face has turned dark and lost
the seasonal trees and the Su Tongpo verses. The verse for its elegance. The raven hair, first withered, is now tangled
the first stage eulogizes the complexion of the newly de- with grass roots. Six organs are putrefied and the corpse
ceased: pushes out beyond the coffin. The limbs have hardened
and lie on the deserted field. The field is desolate, and no one is
Usual complexion paled during sickness. Fragrant body is present. The spirit has gone to the other world in soli-
as if sleeping. Beloved old friends still stay. The spirit has tude. 53
already departed. A beautiful face quickly fades as flowers in
the third month. Life is brief like falling autumn leaves. No The motif of the desolate field or of green grasses beneath
difference between youth and old age. No escape later or the corpse is repeated in every stanza of the poem, sometimes
sooner, faster or slower." in the description of the accretion of tomb mounds." The
Raigoji version follows the poem in its landscapes by placing
Here, the poem focuses on the appearance of the corpse, each stage of the corpse's decay in a barren, undulating field
which hasjust started to discolor, likening it to "flowers in the rendered in ocher with traces of green. At the fourth stage,
third month [that is, early spring]." The painting itself shows the poem mentions the intermingling of old and new corpses
cherry blossoms, the harbinger of spring, falling over the beside the grave; indeed, the Raigoji version places the aban-
newly deceased body. No clear allusion to summer follows in doned corpse beside the grave marker (Fig. 11) in the fourth
the verses for the subsequent stages of decay, but the verses image.
Thus, a correspondence emerges between the poetic de- paradise of the Western Pure Land in the Amida Hall, all in
scriptions of the Su Tongpo verses and the painted depic- accord with the method employed by the Essentials oj Salva-
tions of the Raigoji version. The correspondence is compel- tion for deepening faith in the Buddha Amida.
ling in light of the fact that the companion Buddhist sutras The hanging scrolls portraying the six realms of reincarna-
offer no information about the landscape of this bleak scene. tion at Shoju Raigoji served as powerful visual agents for the
But the resonance of the poem in the painting goes beyond exposition of Genshin's doctrine. The practice of explaining
descriptive details. The Su Tongpo poem laments the transi- religious beliefs through pictorial devices, called etoki (verbal
tory aspect (mujii) ofthis world and human life. The evocation explanation of pictures) , began around the end of the twelfth
of the changing seasons and the solitary corpse on the deso- century. While no documents have survived to verify that the
late field, integral elements of this theme, are employed in set at Sho]u Raigoji was employed in a didactic context, a
the painting as well. The notion of transience stems from record of the conservation dates of the paintings documents
Buddhism, but the sutras on the contemplation of the decay- eight restorations between 1313 and 1683.59 The frequent
ing corpse and human impurity make no explicit reference restoration of the set may point to its use in public for etoki
to the transitory nature of this world. 55 Yet the concept of teaching. From the early twentieth century, the paintings
impermanence is suitable for a consideration of the cycle of have been displayed annually between the thirteenth and
life, death, and decay, and it infuses the exposition of the fifteenth days of the seventh lunar month as part of the
scenes in the Su Tongpo poem. In its landscape and portrayal annual ritual held to deliver ancestral spirits from the realms
of decay, the Raigoji version conveys the allusions in the Su of suffering after death (urabon]. In addition, the temple
Tongpo poem both to human impurity and to the imperma- houses a script for etokientitled the Abbreviated History of theSix
nence of everything in the earthly realm.P" Thus, the Raigoji Realms oj Existence (Rnkudiie siiryaku engi) that explains the
version may allow us to date the Su Tongpo poem to as early doctrines of the six realms with the use of paintings.P" The
as 1300. script was copied in 1897 at the request of a leading member
We now move to an exploration of the functions of this of the temple, and while the date of the original is uncertain,
provocative image. The Raigoji version of the stages of a it was likely transmitted at the temple for generations.
decaying corpse was one of a set of fifteen hanging scrolls The earliest function of the image of the nine stages was
whose content and inscriptions treat the six realms of rein- for the pious contemplation on human impurity by Buddhist
carnation through reference to the Essentials oj Salvation. monks who wished to expunge the sensual desires that dis-
Given this source, the significance of the image of the nine turbed their lives of spiritual devotion. Therefore, the selec-
stages of a decaying corpse was substantially transformed by tion of a woman of exquisite beauty in the Nakamura version
its treatment within the ambit of the six realms of existence. served to enhance the image's original cathartic function of
As we have noted, this text, authored by the Tendai monk aiding male monks in their taming of sexual desire through
Genshin, became the major work for the promulgation of viewing the stark opposition between comely beauty and
Pure Land Buddhist belief. Genshin sought to inculcate Pure repugnant decay. In fact, a major reference for early paint-
Land Buddhist belief by juxtaposing the blissful Western ings of the nine stages of a decaying corpse, the Discourse on
Pure Land with the pain and suffering of the six realms of Mahayana Meditation and Contemplation, comments on the
existence, including the human realm and its characteristic delusion caused by the beautiful appearance of an elegant
impurity (represented by the nine stages of a decaying woman and the effect of the contemplations on the nine
corpse). Furthermore, the Raigoji version encapsulated the stages for expelling sensual desires. The text admonishes,
descriptions of the Discourse on Mahayana Meditation and Con-
templation, the framework of the Essentials oj Salvation, and the Even a woman with graceful eyebrows,jadelike eyes, white
pathos of the Su Tong poem. The devotional message was teeth, and red lips is as if covered by a mixture of feces
presented in a form suitable for public edification. with fat powder, or as if a putrefied corpse were clothed
The inclusion of the nine stages of a decaying corpse in this with silk and twill.... a contemplation like this [on the
visual juxtaposition seems to have begun about 1200. A me- impurity of a decaying corpse] is a golden remedy for
dieval temple document, the NewEssential Records of theDaigoji sensual desire."
(Daigoji shinyiiroku), records that the Enma Hall at Daigoji
(Enma was the lord of the realm of the dead), commissioned Other earlier Buddhist sutras mention that the contempla-
by Senyomon'in (1181-1252), the sixth daughter of Emperor tion on a corpse is effective for curbing sensual desires, but
Goshirakawa, and completed in the twelfth month of 1223 they make no reference to the gender or appearance of the
(Teio 2), displayed an image of the nine stages in its murals, corpse.6 2
which were lost when the building was destroyed in 1336.5 7 The selection of a beautiful, aristocratic woman was linked
This textual record provides our earliest evidence for a de- to the expression of transience in the Raigoji version. Such an
piction of the nine stages of a decaying corpse in the frame- association is supported by the aforementioned entry in the
work of the six realms of existence. Senyornon'in also com- historical chronicle Mirrorof the Eastern Court for the eighth
missioned an Amida Hall in the twelfth month of 1219 day of the eleventh month of 1212 (Kenryaku 2).63 This
(Shokyii 1), and this structure was completed within the document recounted that a painting entitled the Flourish and
precincts of the same temple." Thus, Senyomon'in practiced Decay oj the Life of Ono no Komachi was shown at a picture
her Pure Land Buddhist faith in the opposing (yet closely competition held at the residence of the shogun Minamoto
connected) spatial and spiritual domains of renunciation of no Sanetomo/" The title assigned to the painting of the nine
the human realm in the Enma Hall and yearning for the stages of a decaying corpse, "the flourish and decay," stems
34 ART BULl.ETlN MARCH 2005 VOLUME l.XXXVII NUMBER I
from a deep-seated medieval notion of transience, in partic- rich and poor, man and woman, crowded at the market in
ular as experienced in the lives and fortunes of women. The order to see their corpses. What they saw was the gradual
transient aspects of women's lives form a theme in the medi- process of the corpses' decay to white bones. These two
evalliterary works of female authors (including the legendary empresses exposed their corpses to the public with the
Ono no Komachi), a theme fundamentally rooted in their hope that, since all will be equally impure after death,
tragic love affairs in the polygamous society.65 According to sentient beings in the Latter Days of the Buddhist Law
Buddhist doctrine, five obstacles to enlightenment and three should be awakened through exposure to the impure
kinds of required obedience (to parents, husband, and chil- human condition.P"
dren, after the husband's death) shaped the woman's lamen-
table lot. 66 The characterization of the decaying corpse as a There is no historical evidence to substantiate this anecdote,
beautiful, aristocratic female-an image that conveyed the but it seems to be another instance in which the identity of
epitome of human transience-was important to the new the female corpse was misrepresented in order to connect
function of the nine stages in the Raigoji version. In the the image with a legendary beauty. Such attempts to associate
painting, the two Buddhist notions of human impurity and the corpse with historical figures peaked in the eighteenth
transience were subtly and overtly integrated for didactic and nineteenth centuries. They arose from a popular literary
impact in the exhortation of Pure Land Buddhist belief. genre teaching the ideal way of female life that thrived be-
I should point out here that the reference in the Mirrorof tween the mid-sixteenth and the late seventeenth centuries. 70
the Eastern Coun to a painting of Ono no Komachi has led to (This issue will be examined presently.)
frequent misidentifications of the female corpse in paintings It may be observed that the portrayal of a woman in the
of the nine stages, including the Raigoji version, as the ninth- Raigoji version had an ancillary benefit for the promulgation
century figure herself. Ono no Komachi was celebrated for of Pure Land Buddhism. In traditional Buddhist teaching,
her poetic talent, her stunning beauty during her youth, her women were viewed as impure and inferior to men. Women
trifling with amorous men, and her suffering from decrepi- rarely attained salvation, even with extreme devotion, unless
tude and destitution in old age. The earliest tale mythologiz- they were transformed into men at the moment of death. But
ing the poet is found in the Flourish and Decay of the Life of Pure Land Buddhist doctrine, remarkably, promises that
Tamatsukuri no Komadii (Tamatsukuri no Komachi sosuisho), women could gain salvation as women. While the doctrinal
dated perhaps about 1200. Later, the popularity of Ono no innovation is already evident in a significant Pure Land Bud-
Komachi increased as she became the central subject of five dhist text, the Larger Sutra Uapanese: MuryOjukyo, Sanskrit:
Noh plays, among which Sotoba Komachi (written by Kan'ami Sukhiivatz-vyuha, translated by Buddhabhadra and Baoyun
[1333-1384] or Zeami [1363-1443]) captures her hardship [375?-449], 421), its full import had to await Honen's (1133-
in her old age. 67 In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 1212) commentary on the sutra, dated 1190. 71 Allowing the
some paintings of the nine stages of a decaying corpse were salvation ofwomen made it possible for Pure Land Buddhism
given the title The Nine Stages of Dna no Komachi's Decaying to attract devotees of both sexes. The Raigoji version, which
Corpse. After this identification of the female corpse as Ono was created just after the completion of Honen's highly in-
no Komachi became established in the Edo period, the ca- fluential commentary, might also have inspired women to
daver in antecedent versions of the painting of the nine pursue rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Since this version
stages, including the Raigoji version, has been incorrectly and of the nine stages was intended as an image for public in-
anachronistically regarded by some as a biographical image struction, its audience included both men and women. The
of the ninth-century poet. 68 Yet it is unlikely that a Buddhist doctrinal openness of the image to both genders signaled a
devotional image would center on a specific poet and that the marked shift from the exclusively male audience of Buddhist
tragic, secular female figure Ono no Komachi could have monks targeted by the earlier type of the Nakamura version.
been portrayed in a painting produced by a temple. It is more At this juncture we can consider the way in which Pure
reasonable to posit that the corpse was an anonymous para- Land Buddhism encouraged the spread of this provocative
gon of beauty and decay. The inaccurate appellation proba- image of decay. Although the prototype of the Nakamura
bly arose from a desire among general audiences to establish version probably existed earlier, there are no textual records
an identity for the woman in the startling image. Indeed, over mentioning images of the nine stages of a decaying corpse in
the centuries, the beautiful aristocrat of the Raigoji version Japan before about 1200. The dearth of references to the
has also been connected with other legendary beauties. For images indicates that the nine stages of a decaying corpse
example, some later paintings of the nine stages were were not subject to popular use before the absorption of Pure
thought to represent Empress Danrin (Emperor Saga's wife, Land Buddhism. What may have hindered broader interest in
786-850). The Abbreviated Histmy of the Six Realms of Existence, this theme? In medievalJapan, there were deep-seated beliefs
dated to the nineteenth century, comments on the female about defilement from particular objects, incidents, and con-
corpse of the Raigoji version: ditions. We know from medieval records and diaries that such
threats to purity were carefully categorized and rules given
The woman in this [Raigoji] painting is either Empress for their expurgation. In these regulations, death and the
Komyo or Empress Danrin. These two empresses were dead body figured among the sources of defilement cited
exceptionally beautiful during their lifetimes, and every most frequently. " Not only was the corpse seen as unclean,
man adored them at first sight. They stipulated in their but the defilement was also considered contagious. It is un-
wills that after the moment of death, their bodies should clear how a painting of a corpse would have been treated in
be discarded on the field of the Western Hill. Everybody, light of these beliefs, but without an overriding religious
e b a
f e d
h g
12 Illustrated Handscroll of the Poem of the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse, 1527. Osaka, Dainenbutsuji (photo: Osaka Museum of
History). Stages one through nine, arranged right to left, with intervening poems excised: (a) newly deceased; (b) distension; (c)
exudation of blood; (d) putrefaction; (e) discoloration and desiccation; (f) consumption by birds and animals; (g) whole skeleton;
(h) disjointing; (i) parched to dust.
motivation, such an image would not have been produced in The Painting of the Nine Stages at Dainenbutsuji
Japan. Breaking the indigenous taboos and encouraging peo- Images of the nine stages of a decaying corpse were produced
ple to face a corpse for the sake of devotion required a new through the nineteenth century. While these retained the
theological foundation. In this sense, Pure Land Buddhist sensational subject, they had entirely different functions from
belief provided the basis that made possible a focused con- those of the early paintings. The examination of two later
templation on death and the corpse.?" Unlike earlier schools works will elucidate the transformation of the image within
of Buddhism that restricted a blissful afterlife to the few of distinct religious and cultural contexts. We tum first to the
the religious elite who succeeded in achieving liberation image of the nine stages at Dainenbutsuji, Osaka (Fig. 12a-i,
from vicious transmigratory cycles, Pure Land Buddhism pre- 12\.11 by 184~ inches, or 30.8 by 468.6 centimeters; hereafter,
sented a new manner of devotion to Buddha Amida that the Dainenbutsuji version). The Dainenbutsuji is the head
could be managed by even lay devotees, thus opening salva- temple of the Yuzu (all-inclusive) Nenbutsu school, founded
tion to any who practiced simple nenbutsu (to think of the by the priest Ryonin (1072-1132). According to an inscrip-
Buddha).74 In other words, devotees could now encounter tion at the end of the handscroll, the Dainenbutsuji version
death and corpses, previously untouchable, knowing that was created in 1527 (Daiei 7).75 The scroll begins with a
their proper devotion to Buddha Amida would assure them picture of the crescent moon and autumn grasses painted in
of rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Consequently, the silver and gold pigments.P Next is inserted a section contain-
image ofthe nine stages of a decaying corpse was created and ing the wavy watermark decoration that often accompanies
circulated contemporaneously with the culmination of Pure calligraphic verses, followed by the preface to the Su Tongpo
Land Buddhism in medieval Japan. poem (Fig. 13). Each stage of decay is then presented, with
13 Initial scene and preface of the Su Tongpo poem, from Illustrated Handscroll of the Poem of the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse,
1527 (photo: Osaka Museum of History)
the relevant stanza of the poem, written in Chinese charac- showing the morning sun drying out the corpse. The weeds
ters, and the usual two waka, inscribed in a mixture of Chi- and the pine tree in the eighth (Fig. 12h) and ninth (Fig. 12i)
nese characters and Japanese kana syllabary. The calligraphy stages echo the poem as well. Yet visual elements that impede
of the preface and poems is executed with gilt decorations the flow of the narration as well as the poem's conveyance of
that include seasonal plants, landscape, and birds. The seasonal change preclude a close coordination of the picto-
Dainenbutsuji version is the earliest surviving painting of the rial images and poetic motifs. The first stage, with cherry and
nine stages to be accompanied by both the Su Tongpo poem maple, simultaneously connotes spring and fall. The autum-
and the waka verses. Through a graphological analysis of the nal scenes, in the second through fifth stages, and the wintry
poems, the writer has been identified as a prominent aristo- scenes, in the six through eighth stages, are concluded with
cratic monk.johoji Kojo (1453-1538), who was renowned for summer scenery (denoted by the morning glories) in the last
his skillful calligraphy." No records regarding the prove- frame. In addition, the particular area of the graveyard ren-
nance of the handscroll have survived, but the painting is dered in the painting does not remain constant throughout
likely to have been located at Dainenbutsuji since the early the nine scenes, altered by the casual addition of motifs
sixteenth century. The calligrapher Johoji Kojo was once an corresponding to the poem and by changes in major land-
abbot of the Kuramadera temple, which had a long associa- marks (such as mountains, trees, and rocks) that convey
tion with the Dainenbutsuji's founder, Ryonin, and it is likely different locations. Because of the inconsistency of the land-
that Johoji would have joined the project at the Dainenbut- scapes throughout the sequence, the process of the corpse's
suji. The painter is unknown, but the work is attributed to the decay plays the primary narrative role. As we have noted, later
studio of Kano Motonobu (1476-1558), the second-genera- renderings of the nine stages, including the Dainenbutsuji
tion head of the famed Kano school of painters. As promi- version, were often attended by both the Su Tongpo poem
nent artists were involved in the creation of the Dainenbut- and the waka.78 The two waka written near each of the nine
suji version, we may assume that an affluent patron must have stages of the Dainenbutsuji version rarely pertain to the stage
commissioned the work. of the corpse that they accompany?" The poems capture only
Each stage in this version is placed after the relevant sub- the general atmosphere of the pathos of transience underly-
title from right to left (see App. I): (1) newly deceased ing the decay of the corpse. The authorship and date of the
(shinshisii); (2) distension (hochoso); (3) exudation of blood waka are uncertain, but we do know that the verses were
(ketsuzuso}; (4) putrefaction (haranso); (5) discoloration and circulated in the late fourteenth century.
desiccation (seiosii]; (6) consumption by birds and animals The artistic style of this version warrants special attention.
(shokutanso); (7) whole skeleton (hakkotsurensii); (8) disjoint- The depiction of the corpse lacks both anatomical precision
ing (hakkotsusanso); (9) parched to dust (jokeso). One distinc- and a meticulous observation of the process of decay. The
tive feature of the Dainenbutsuji version is its visual corre- eight corpses lying in changing settings look like dolls
spondence to the accompanying Su Tongpo poem. The nine propped up to mark only the essential plot. The sensational
images have landscapes delineating the graveyard where the subject is softened further by the yamato-e landscapes with the
dead body has been discarded, and some of the landscape skillful use of hovering fog (suyari gasumi), a traditional pic-
motifs are derived from the poem. For example, in the first torial device of this style that unifies the scenes of the se-
stage of the newly deceased (Fig. 12a), both the seasonal quence over the passage oftime. 80 The visual depiction of the
cherry and maple trees are painted near the corpse in an Dainenbutsuji version concludes by showing a male aristocrat
echo of the verse: "A beautiful face quickly fades as flowers in weeping in front of four stupas (sotoba, containers for relics or
the third month. Life is brief like falling autumn leaves." In symbolic sacred objects)-an addition unique to this hand-
the fifth stage (Fig. 12e), the painting follows the poem by scroll (Fig. 12i).81
14 Pious wife of a lower-ranked monk being returned from the realm of dead to this world, from Legends oj the Y""uzu Nenbutsu: Yiizu
Nenbutsu Engi, handscroll, ink, color, and gold on paper, 35 X 485 in. (89.7 X 1232.4 cm), 14th century. The Cleveland Museum of
An, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, John L. Severance Fund, Edward L. Whittemore Fund (photo: © The Cleveland
Museum of Art)
The early images of the nine stages of a decaying corpse are scroll have survived, most of them dated between the four-
powerfully didactic in their graphic impact. Their visual ef- teenth and fifteenth centuries, except for several nineteenth-
fectiveness stems from their exposition of human impurity or century copies of the earlier versions. The creation of so
their connection to the concept of the six realms of reincar- many versions of an illustrated handscroll having the same
nation. In the Dainenbutsuji version, in contrast, the shock- subject is exceptional in Japanese art history, and their ex-
ing details are no longer articulated. The illustrations have tensive production reveals the distinct function of the hand-
been sanitized from the grotesque instructive descriptions of scrolls within yilzu nenbutsu belief.
the decaying corpse in a preference for reflecting the atmo- The characteristic teaching of the school was that the
sphere and selected elements of the accompanying poems. spiritual practice of a single person results in merit for all,
The simplified illustrations of the corpses in the Dainenbut- and therefore the devotional actions of a multitude increase
suji version even seem to laugh rather than howl in death, the salvific benefit exponentially. The religious duties of yuzu
perhaps out of an intention to deliver the subject of the nenbutsu included the offering of oblations to itinerant
decaying corpse in a less hortative manner. monks who preached the belief. Since yilzu nenbutsu practice
Let us now consider the substantial transformation of the was nonsectarian, the solicitation of offerings was not con-
image of the nine stages between about 1300 and 1527 from fined to monks of Ryonin 's lineage. However, the creation of
the standpoint of its functions and historical background. the YUzu emaki for the purposes of outreach and solicitation
The function of the Dainenbutsuji version is illuminated by a was undertaken largely by Ryonin's successors. The illus-
genre of Buddhist narrative found at the same temple. As the trated handscrolls that explained the miraculous events of
seat of the Yiizii Nenbutsu school, the Dainenbutsuji temple Ryonin's life and of the yilzu nenbutsu practitioners served as
emphasized the idea of yilzu, melding different substances a way of legitimizing the spiritual efficacy of the belief and
together, their union bringing perfection through synergism. attracting new devoteesr'" The Y"uzu emaki became visual aids
The coalescence of faith resulting from chanting nenbutsu for the aggressive exposition of the sect's teachings to broad
with other devotees was thought to eventually bring the prac- strata of society, from which it could collect contributions
titioners to rebirth in the Western Pure Land. It was said that and donations. Such a missionary scheme was typically uti-
the school's founder, Ryonin, in order to amplify the syner- lized for the illustrated handscrolls at Shinto shrines and
gistic effect encouraged all devotees to recite nenbutsa ten Buddhist temples that were widely produced from the thir-
times every morning facing west as a mass thaumaturgic teenth century on; indeed, the handscroll became a signifi-
practice. The faith was popular among Buddhists regardless cant medium for garnering capital, particularly under the
of sectarian affiliation, but it was not until 1661 that the yilzu Ashikaga military government (1336-1571), when Buddhist
nenbutsu belief became an official Buddhist school. 82 temples, which had prospered under the estate system of
Art historically, the school is best known for the Y""uzu landholding backed by the authority of the central govern-
nenbutsu eng;emaki (IllustratedHandscrolls oJthe Legends oJY"uzu ment, could expect little financial support from the weak-
Nenbutsu; hereafter, the Y""uzu emaki), Since the production of ened court.
the first two volumes of the handscroll in 1314, the same A representative preface of one Y""uzu emaki reveals this aim:
format and subject have been painted repeatedly/" In illus-
trations and calligraphic texts, the first volume narrates the The monks and laity, who heard about the miraculous
life of Ryonin, while the second volume depicts the auspi- power and the fortunate examples, wished for the same. If
cious and miraculous events that befell the practitioners of they make bonds [through yilzu nenbutsu teaching] by
yilzu nenbutsu (Fig. 14). Twenty-eight versions of the hand- practicing nenbutsu and writing their names, they will be
38 ART BULI.ETIN MARCH 200.; \,OI.VME LXXX\'II Nl'MBER I
free from all misfortune during this life, and they will nal power of nenbutsu, which is able to save the deceased from
attain their desire for salvation in the next life.... The the suffering of the six realms of existence."
intention for painting the teaching of the yuzu nenbutsu is Several versions of YUzu emaki have survived at the head-
to foster belief among the male and female laity.!l5 quarters of the Yiizii Nenbutsu school at Dainenbutsuji, The
scrolls point to the significance of the medium in expound-
We see here that the goal of the handscrolls, from the stand- ing nenbutsu practice and in attracting supporters, and some
point of the temple, was to create and strengthen ties be- versions also attest to their use by wealthy patrons as prayers
tween the temple and its financially supportive devotees. The for the deceased. One print version at the temple dated 1391
content of the YUzu emaki centered on two kinds of stories. was commissioned by a military governor named Minomori
One type recounts how the ymu nenbutsu was expounded to Sukekage, who ordered the copy as a prayer for the salvation
many people, rich and poor, male and female, clergy and of his parents. A later version, dated before 1489, believed to
laity, all of whom attained salvation through nenbutsu prac- have been copied by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshinao (r. 1473-
tice. Stories of the other type tell how practitioners were 89), likely served as his prayer for some deceased kin.
protected by Buddhist deities, such as Amida and Bisha- In light of this background, the function of the painting of
monten (Sanskrit: Vaisravana), and they relate the ways in the nine stages at Dainenbutsuji can be understood correctly.
which the power of ymll nenbutsu wrought miracles, such as The handscroll depicts one of the six realms of reincarnation
the revival of a monk's wife from the realm of the dead (Fig. (the human realm), as well as the unique scene of a male
14) and the recovery of a cowherd's wife from a difficult aristocrat praying before the stupas in the ninth stage (Fig.
delivery. It is worth noting that this latter type of story em- 15). While the accompanying poem mentions that unspeci-
phasized the miracles that befell female devotees, and such a fied individuals may be mourning at the tomb, the illustra-
predilection reflected the school's desire to broadcast the tion shows a male aristocrat who must be conducting a me-
new faith to all. morial service for the deceased, perhaps a mother or wife, in
The compact format of the YUzu emaki handscrolls was order to save her from the realm of suffering. The illustra-
handy for the itinerant priests who urged people to perform tions of human decay from the first through eighth stages
meritorious acts, including making donations to temples.f" emphasize the consequences of the vicious cycle of human
In their travels, these priests would preach the content of the life and death deriving from karmic effect. The last illustra-
scrolls in their solicitation of funds. Documents detail the tion suggests the merits of constructing stupas and offering
activities of the itinerant priests through the seventeenth prayers (nenbutsu) for the deceased and, more broadly, con-
century. For example, the Diary of Sanjiinishi Sanetaka (Sane- notes the performance of a memorial service for the salvation
taka kiiki), in entries for the eighth month of 1510 (Eisho 7), of the dead. With the shift in function from frightening
reports, "The monk Ryoen brought the r-uzu emaki [to the viewers with the impure state of flesh to performing the
Sanjonishi residence], and it was returned on the following memorial service, the realistic, grotesque images seen in
day, and each devotee was listed in the record. ,,87 Solicitations earlier versions of the nine stages became unnecessary. As the
that utilized paintings of miracles and spiritual efficacy were subject of corporeal decay was executed by a painter in a
successful, and in fact the ymu nenbutsu belief attracted not leading artistic studio, the theme was absorbed into the reli-
only commoners but also many courtiers and aristocrats. The gious fashions of the early-sixteenth-century illustrated hand-
names of wealthy patrons were inscribed in the various r-uzu scrolls. In the Dainenbutsuji version, the illustrations, with
emakiz. 88 their elegant calligraphy and decorative gold motifs, satisfied
Recent scholarship has revealed that several versions of the the wealthy commissioner who wished to save the deceased by
r-uzu emaki were created for memorial rites, and these were performing the yuzu nenbutsu practice.
commissioned, along with prayers for the salvation of the
deceased, by renowned patrons/" Thus, from the early goals Paintings of the Nine Stages in Edo Printed Books
of propagation and solicitation, the functionality of the YUzu The image of the nine stages continued to be created
emakievolved to a later objective of prayer for the salvation of through the nineteenth century. The General Index ofJapanese
a particular deceased practitioner. The development can be Books (Kokusho siimokuroku) records seven surviving versions of
readily understood within the thaumaturgic paradigm of the woodblock-printed books on the subject.9 2 Among the seven
ymu nenbutsu belief, and the salvation of the dead through versions, five are dated between the seventeenth and nine-
merit transfer is highlighted in the Statement Urging People to teenth centuries and two are undated. The numerous surviv-
Perform Meritorious Acts (YUzu nenbutsu kanjinjii), probably writ- als indicate that the image was made in this different format
ten in the late thirteenth century.'" The document states, for popular consumption, and also that the notion of the
"The devotees who want to perform memorial services for nine stages was actively circulated during the Edo period. 9 3
parents, teachers, elders, wives, and children can write their The woodblock-printed books on the subject may be divided
names in this record and recite nenbutsu. The merit will then into two groups. The first group includes those books offer-
be given to the dead, a merit that is profound and equal to ing serious Buddhist interpretations of the nine stages from
the karma through self-practice." The passage not only de- the perspective of contemplations on impurity and tran-
scribes how the miraculous power of the all-inclusive nenbutsu sience. In these works, the nine stages are treated with full-
can extend to the deceased, but it also offers further motiva- page illustrations, followed by the Su Tongpo verses and the
tion to the readers. They are encouraged to perform memo- usual two waka. The stages are preceded and followed by
rial services for the rebirth of the deceased in the Western extensive explanations of the pertinent doctrinal and literary
Pure Land. The salvific effect is derived from the phenome- sources. The books are entitled Kusiishi gtmkai (Colloquial
15 A male aristocrat mourning in

front of four stupas at the ninth stage,
from Illustrated Handscroll of thePoem of
the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse, 1527
Explanation of the Poems on the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse) occurs in the various titles of all surviving printed versions
and Kusiishi eshO (Illustrations ofthe Poems on the Nine Stages ofa from the Edo period, which may be considered anthologies
Decaying Corpse). The latter, dated to 1810 (Bunka 7), is a with inserted illustrations. The Akagi version devotes its first
revision of the former, dated to 1694 (Genroku 7), and two pages to the preface of the Su Tongpo poem and then
authored by the monk San 'unshi. These volumes were seri- moves to the stanzas and images for the nine stages (see App.
ous texts for lay believers, and this purpose is reinforced by 1): (1) newly deceased (shinshisii}; (2) distension (hOchoso); (3)
the preface to the Kusiishi genkai, in which San'unshi translit- exudation of blood (ketsutoso); (4) putrefaction (hiiranso); (5)
erated the Su Tongpo poem into the Japanese syllabary and consumption by birds and animals (tamshokuso}; (6) discolor-
supplemented it with illustrations to facilitate comprehen- ation and desiccation (seiosii); (7) whole skeleton (hakkotsu
sion. Both versions were sold in front of the Chion'in, a rensii); (8) disjointing (kotsusansii); and (9) tumulus (kofunso).
temple in Kyoto, at a bookstore that specialized in Buddhist Its order differs with that of the Dainenbutsuji version, which
sutras and commentaries.l" also follows the Su Tongpo poem, in that the fifth and sixth
The second group of Edo woodblock-printed books in- stages are interchanged, and the ninth stage (parched to
cludes all books entitled only Kusiishi (Poems on the Nine Stages dust) has been replaced by the tumulus.f" This order is the
of a Decaying Corpser and comprises the earliest surviving same as that found in all other Edo books on the subject.
woodblock-printed books on the nine stages. These volumes Each Su Tongpo verse fills its page, and on the adjacent pages
simply provide the nine illustrations with relevant stanzas of we find the two waka in the upper half with the relevant
the Su Tongpo poem and the waka, offering no supplemental illustration below (Fig. 17). The Su Tongpo poetry of the
commentary. The poems are printed in large, clear charac- Kusiishi is printed in clear, blockish characters, while the waka
ters, accompanied by sketchy but humorous illustrations. verses appear in a mixture of cursive characters and kana
Such qualities reveal a completely different audience and syllables. Most of the Chinese characters of the Su Tongpo
objective as the target for these volumes. We will examine one verses are glossed by kana. Hence, the Akagi version is cate-
book from this group in the former Akagi Bunko Collection gorized as an example of the contemporary literary genre of
(Fig. 16a-i; hereafter, the Akagi version) dated to the Keian kana booklets (kana zOshi), which consisted of popular novels
era (1648-52).96 Our study will illuminate the further devel- and essays for pleasure reading printed with the comprehen-
opment of the genre in the early modern period. sible kana syllabary.f" The counterpart to scholarly literature
We begin by noting the distinct features of the Akagi and classics written in Chinese characters, this popular liter-
version.i" The title Kusoshi suggests that the prime focus of ary genre emerged at the same time that a new economy
the work is the poem rather than the image. The term kusoshi brought opportunities for widespread elementary education
40 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2005 VOLUME LXXXVII NUMBER 1
c b a
f e d
b g
16 II1ustrations from the woodblock-printed book Kusiishi (POI!1TlS on the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse), 1648-52. Tokyo, Fonner
Akagi Bunko Collection (from Kinsei Bungaku Shoshi Kenkyiikai, Kinsei bungaku shiryii ruiju, vol. 10, 505-28. Stages one through
nine, arranged right to left: (a) newly deceased; (b) distension; (c) exudation of blood; (d) putrefaction; (e) consumption by birds
and animals; (f) discoloration and desiccation; (g) whole skeleton; (h) disjointing; (i) tumulus.
and a consequent increase of literacy and leisure reading. tures of this subordinate role of the images are seen in the
The contemporaneous development of efficient woodblock- Akagi version.
printing techniques led to an explosion of reading material First, the illustrations in the Edo texts on the nine stages
for the populace, including the kana booklets, produced show an artistic attempt to reflect both the Su Tongpo poem
between about 1600 and 1680. In the first half century of and the waka. This dual reference is not seen in the Dainen-
their production, the kana booklets, usually didactic in na- butsuji version, in which the illustrations ignore the content
ture, were typically authored by educated people, among of the waka verses. In the Akagi version, five of the nine
them courtiers, lesser samurai, scholars, and Buddhist priests. illustrations (the first, second, sixth, eighth, and ninth stages)
The monochrome prints accompanying the Akagi ver- incorporate at least one element from both the Su Tongpo
sion's text provide coarse sketches of the nine stages of the and waka poems. For example, the illustration of the sixth
decomposition process. The rough portrayal of both human stage (Fig. 16f) depicts the morning sun (chatan) as it shines
anatomy and the landscape indicates not the artist's incom- on the corpse lying on the still-green spring grasses men-
petence but rather the intention to fashion the images in the tioned in the Su Tongpo poem (stanza 5, line 3, see App. 2).
way the book was to be enjoyed.l?" The precursor of kana The illustration includes a mass of black hair that is the main
booklets, otogi zashi (companion books), were typically viewed theme of the first waka. The illustration of the eighth stage
by a community of listeners, and the elaborate, colorful im- (Fig. 16h) includes the "decomposed head" from the Su
ages played a significant didactic role for audiences that may Tongpo poem (stanza 8, line 2) and the cattail (obana) from
have been illiterate. In contrast, mass-produced kana book- the first waka. The remaining three stages, of patently simple
lets were read by the growing group of literate individuals. depiction, accommodate the content of the Su Tongpo or
The illustrations served as supplements to the texts, as the waka poems. Thus, the largely simple and abstract treatment
figures became subordinate to the poems. Two specific fea- of the corpse's decay-a treatment that nonetheless incorpo-
IMAGES OF A DECAYING CORPSE IN JAPANESE Bl'DDHIST ART 41
17 Pages of the stage

of exudation of blood,
from Kusiishi, 1648-52
rates specific images from the poems--was demanded by the to instruct women in the ways of proper conduct on the basis
subordinate role of the illustrations to the text. of Buddhist teaching. This type was prevalent through the
Second, the Akagi version offers only a loose portrayal of second half of the seventeenth century, when women's edu-
human anatomy. Its cursory depiction of the body eliminates cation became more informed by Confucian teachings. Ex-
the sense of the grotesque and offers a risible treatment of amples of such didactic works include the Two Nuns (Ninin
the process of corporeal decay. The second stage (Fig. 16b) bikuni, written by Suzuki Shosan, 1664), the Seven Nuns
depicts the panels of a wooden coffin exploded by the swol- (Shichinin bikuni, 1635), and the Tale in Ogura (Ogura monoga-
len corpse. Although the illustration recalls the Su Tongpo tari, 1661). In these stories, the main female characters un-
verse, "six organs are putrefied and the corpse pushes out dergo an experience that enlightens readers about the tran-
beyond the coffin" (stanza 2, line 3), the bursting of the sitory nature of human existence, and in the end, many of the
coffin by the bloated body of the cartoonlike figure seems to protagonists become nuns. Thus, these stories, after question-
have aimed for a humorous response. No other extant ver- ing life in the human realm, focus on women's enlighten-
sion of the nine stages depicts the broken coffin. The fifth ment.
stage (Fig. 16e) reveals the artist's playful intent more clearly. Developed out of the growing education of women, the
In this stage of consumption by birds and animals, the artist stories are characterized by a pervasive undercurrent stress-
has replaced the corpse with a scarecrow, complete with ing the potential for female enlightenment. Their didactic
stalks for legs and feet. In the sixth stage (Fig. 16£), although import encompasses salient aspects of Buddhist doctrine,
the gaunt corpse consists of only bones and skin, it is covered especially the traditional notion of human transience. In this
by a sudden excess of black hair. These comical treatments of context, the subject of the nine stages of a decaying corpse
the decomposition process also stemmed from the diminu- was likely considered a story that could lead to enlightenment
tion of the role of visual imagery, which earlier had been for the large number of female readers of kana booklets. In
necessary to inspire viewers to embrace Buddhist convic- fact, the tale entitled Two Nuns employs the nine stages of a
tions.'?' decaying corpse in its plot as a life-changing experience for
What, then, is the functionality of this Edo-period render- the main female character, the wife of Suda Yahei. 102 After
ing of the nine stages? The Akagi version belongs to the her husband's death on the battlefield, the wife lives with a
kana-booklet genre, so we may begin our investigation by woman who has also lost her husband to war. When her
identifying the target audience of the booklets. In this genre housemate becomes sick and dies and the villagers throw the
of the Edo period, many books were produced for the moral corpse into a field without holding a burial service, she
education of women. The instructional texts in feminine witnesses the process of the corpse's decay. The experience
morality can be divided into two types. One group was de- becomes the turning point of her life, leading her to become
signed to guide girls and women toward proper conduct and a mendicant. She then visits an old, virtuous nun in the
etiquette, often referring to Chinese and Japanese female mountains and, after a series of religious dialogues with her,
exemplars. The other type of text utilized a dialogue format the wife ofSuda Yahei becomes enlightened and dies with the
42 > .\RT Bl·l.l.F.T1X MARCil ~(/ :) 2005 VOl.l'MF.
VOLUME l.XXXVII
LXXXVIT Xl'~IBF.R NUMBER I !
promiseof
promise ofsalvation.
salvation. In In the
the TwoTweNuns,
Nuns, the thenine
ninestages
stagesserve
serveas as enment in
enrnent which they
in which they realized
realized they
they were
were foolish,
foolish, corrected
corrected
the crucial
the crucial experience
experience that that provides
provides the the opportunity
opportunity for for en-
en- their mistakes,
their mistakes, behaved
behaved moderately,
moderately, and and practiced
practiced nenbutsu.
nenbutsu.
lightenment and
lightenment and future
future salvation
salvation toto the the female
female protagonist.
protagonist. In the
In the TwoTwoNuns
Nunsand and his hissermons,
sermons, Suzuki
Suzuki Shosan
Shosan utilized
utilized thethe
Since such stories emphasized
Since such stories emphasized the enlightenment ofthe enlightenment ofwomen
women story of
story of aa decaying
decaying corpsecorpse toto make make womenwomen aware awareof their
of their
with regard to the nature of life in the human realm, their
with regard to the nature oflife in the human realm, their innate defiled
innate defiled body
body and and inferior
inferior status
status and and to to turn
turn them
them
ultimate goal
ultimate goal appears
appears to to have
have been
been turning
turning female
female readers
readers toward enlightenment,
toward enlightenment, which which would
would lead lead themthem to to libera-
libera-
into good
into good Buddhist
Buddhist practitioners.
practitioners. tion.'°7
tion. 1II7
Indeed, the
Indeed, the EdoEdo period
period saw saw thethe emergence
emergence of of written
written II propose,
propose, then, then, thatthat the the Akagi
Akagi version
version of of the
the decaying
decaying
precepts for
precepts for the
the proper
proper conduct
conduct of ofwomen.
women.In the interest
In the interest of of corpse was mainly directed at female readers. In fact,
corpse was mainly directed at female readers. In fact, one
one ofof
social harmony,
social harmony, the the shogunal
shogunal military
military administration
administration wanted wanted the surviving books at the Waseda University Library has the
the surviving books at the Waseda University Library has the
to strengthen
to strengthen the the hierarchical
hierarchical naturenature of ofthethe household.
household. They They woodcut-printed name
woodcut-printed name of ofaa woman
woman added addedtotheinside
to the inside of of the
the
therefore encouraged
therefore encouraged the the production
production and and thethe circulation
circulation of of back cover,
back cover, clearly
clearly the the seal
seal ofof the
the book's
book’s owner.
owner. TheThe name
name
moral instructions
moral instructions that that guided
guided womenwomento becomeidealwives.
to become ideal wives. reads ganshu
reads ganshu (prayer
(prayer for) for) Chiyoi
Chiyoi or or Tomoyoi.
Tomoyoi. These These women
women
A national
A national canon
canon of ofsocial morality developed.
social morality developed. The Thetactic
tactic of of readers signal
readers signal aa marked
marked change change in in audience
audience from from thethe previ-
previ-
these moral
these moral tracts
tracts until
until the the mid-seventeenth
mid-seventeenth century century was was ous versions
ous versions of of the
the nine
nine stages
stages of of aa decaying
decaying corpse.
corpse.
transparent: they
transparent: they indoctrinated
indoctrinated morals morals by by referring
referring to to the
the Ourstudy
Our study of of images
images of of the
the nine
nine stages
stages from
from thethe thirteenth
thirteenth
innate inferiority
innate inferiority of of women
women as as presented
presented in in Buddhist
Buddhist teach- teach- to the
to the seventeenth
seventeenth centuries
centuries has has revealed
revealed their their transforma-
transforma-
ings. For
ings. For example,
example, the the view
view that
that women
women faced faced fivefive obstacles
obstacles tive functionality
tive functionality at at thethe nexus
nexus of of religion,
religion, literature,
literature, and and
for attaining
attaining salvation
salvation and and had had to to submit
submit to to three
three kinds
kinds of of
2016
/ 2016
for politics. In the chronological panoramaof Japanese art his-

politics. In the chronological panorama ofJapanese art his-
obedience was
obedience was reasserted.
reasserted. The The encumbrance
encumbranceofthese barriers
of these barriers tory, this
tory, this image
image represents
represents aa rare rare case
case ofof aa single,
single, narrative
narrative
to salvation
salvation provided
provided the the rationale
rationale for for women
women to to adopt
adopt ahigh
13 February
to high Buddhist subject

Buddhist subject being
being painted
painted and and distributed
distributed beyondbeyond the the
level of
level of feminine
feminine morality.
morality. sects and monasteries for a variety of uses. While the
sects and monasteries for a variety of uses. \\'hile the image
image
The new
The new direction
direction of of moral
moral education
education for for women
womenis nicely
is nicely was realized
was realized in in different
different contexts
contexts withwith distinct
distinct purposes,
purposes, two two
exemplified by the changein literary genrecalled stories of
a4 at 10:37 13
exemplified by the change in a literary genre called stories of features recur: the visual sensationalism of depicting aa decay-
features recur: the visual sensationalism of depicting decay-
the attainment of rebirth in the Pure Land
the attainment of rebirth in the Pure Land (iijOden, hereafter, (djoden, hereafter, ing corpse
ing corpse and and the
the fundamental
fundamental Buddhist Buddhist conceptconcept of of human
human
stories of
stories of rebirth)
rebirth) between
between the the twelfth
twelfth and and the the seventeenth
seventeenth transience. These
transience. These two two elements
elements motivated
motivated the the consistent
consistent pro-pro-
centuries. In the twelfth
centuries. In the twelfth century thecentury thestories
stories of of rebirth
rebirth showed
showed duction of
duction of the
the image
image over over the the centuries.
centuries. SinceSince thethe arrival
arrival ofof
how women
womencould attain rebirth
rebirth in in the
the Pure
Pure Land
Land by by sincere
sincere
University]
/ [La Trobe University]
how could attain Buddhism in

Buddhism in Japan
Japan in in the
thesixth century, the
sixth century, the notion
notion of of human
human
and devoted
and devoted Buddhist
Buddhist practices.'°*
practices. 1U3 By By comparison,
comparison, in in the
the transience became
transience became deeply deeply ingrained
ingrained in in thethe cultural
cultural con-con-
stories of
stories of rebirth
rebirth of of the
the seventeenth
seventeenth century,century, such such as as the
the sciousness, and
sciousness, and thethe idea
idea found
found its its most
moststriking
striking and and direct
direct
Stories of
Stories of Clergy
Clergy and
and Laity Who Attained
Laity lWlo Attained TheirTheir Rebirth
Rebirth in in the
the Pure
Pure manifestation
manifestation in in the
the images
images of of the
the nine
nine stages.
stages. TheThe depic-
depic-
Land(Shibyaku
Land (Shibyaku djoden, 1688, by
iijiiden, 1688, by Ryochi)
Ryochi) and and thethe Modern
Modern Stories
Stories tions
tions ofof corporeal
corporeal decaydecay delineate
delineate the the destiny
destiny of of the
the physical
physical
ofthe AttainmentofRebirth
oftheAttainment of Rebirth in in the
the Pure Land(Kinsei
PureLand (Kinsei ajaden,
iijiiden, 1694,
1694, body
body and and portray
portray the the mysterious
mysterious transitional
transitional state state between
between
by
by Myoshun),
Myoshun), women women could could not not be be reborn
reborn in in the
the Pure
Pure Land this
this and
and the the other
other worlds.
worlds. At At each
each juncture
juncture of of the
the theme’s
theme's
solely
solely byby Buddhist
Buddhist practices.’
practices. 1U4 In In orderto
order to attainattain their
their salva-
salva- function
function over over the
the centuries,
centuries, the the images
images played
played aa redeeming
redeeming
Downloaded by
tion,
tion, they
they also
also had
had to to be
be honest,
honest, gentle,
gentle, obedient,
obedient, merciful,
merciful, role
role asas viewers
viewers sought
sought to to bridge
bridge the the gapgap between
between ephemeral
ephemeral
filially
filially pietistic,
pietistic, and
and patient—all
patient-all attributes
attributes of of the
the perfect
perfect wifewife humanexistence
human existence and and aa restful
restful afterlife.
afterlife. Although
Although the the nine
nine
and
and mother.'°°
mother. 1U5 Althoughthestories
Although the stories of of rebirth
rebirth werewere written
written to to Stages
stages areare treated
treated in in many
many Buddhist
Buddhist sutras,
sutras, no no other
otherpictorial
pictorial
attract
attract women
women to to Buddhism
Buddhism with with the
the promise
promise of of salvation,
salvation, we we examplesillustrating
examples illustrating the the complete
complete sequence
sequence of of the
the decaying
decaying
see
see that
that Buddhist
Buddhist teaching
teaching mergedmerged with with thethe broader
broader political
political corpse have survived in other Asian countries. This remark-
corpse have survived in other Asian countries. This remark-
agenda
agenda of of the
the Tokugawa
Tokugawa regime regime for for developing
developing an an en-en- able distribution attests to a visual agency that was conceived
able distribution attests to a visual agency that was conceived
trenched
trenched patriarchy.
patriarchy. and
and nurturedin
nurtured in the the idiosyncratic
idiosyncratic matrix matrix ofJapanese
ofJapanese culture.
culture.
The
The newnew modeofreligious
mode of religious and and moralinstruction
moral instruction isis repre- repre-
sented by the Zen monk
sented by the Zen monk Suzuki Shosan, Suzuki Shosan, authorofthe
author of the tale tale of
of
the
the Two
TwoNuns
Nuns mentionedearlier."°°
mentioned earlier.l'" He He taught
taught Buddhism
Buddhism to to Fusae
Fusae Kanda,
Kanda, aa postdoctoralfellow
postdoctoral fellowat
at Harvard
Haroard University,
University, received
received
women
women withinwithin aa new new dynamic
dynamic of of belief
belief and and behavior
behavior with with aa her doctoratefrom Yale
herdoctoratefrom University. She
YaleUniversity. Sheisiscurrently
currently completing
completingaa book
book
central
central message:
message: womenwomen were were to to observe
observe the the moral
moral precepts
precepts on.
on the
thesalvific
salvificimages
images ofJapanese
ofJapanese Buddhism
Buddhism [Reischauer
[Reischauer Institute
Instituteof
of
or they would be
or they would be unable tounable to reside
reside in in the
the Western
Western Pure Pure Land.
Land. Japanese
Japanese Studies,
Studies, Harvard
Haroard University,
University, 1737
1737 Cambridge
Cambridge St.,
St., Cam-
Cam-
Salvation
Salvation came came onlyonly after
after women
women reached
reached level a level of ofenlight-
enlight- bridge,
bridge, Mass.
Mass. 02138,
02138, [email protected].
[email protected].
Appendix 1 Synopsis of the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse as Found in Images and Texts
Work Stage I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ImaKt'.1
Nakamura version newly distension rupture exudation of putrefaction discoloration and consumption by skeleton disjointing
(early 14th century) deceased* blood desiccation birds and
animals
Raigoji version (ca. newly distension rupture exudation of putrefaction discoloration and consumption by dismemberment bones
1300) deceased blood desiccation birds and
animals
Dainenbutsu]i version newly distension exudation of putrefaction discoloration and consumption by skeleton disjoiruing parched to dust
(1527) deceased blood desiccation birds and
animals
Akagi version (ca. newly distension exudation of putrefaction consumption by discoloration and skeleton disjointing tumulus
1650) deceased blood birds and desiccation
animals
Poems
Kiikai poem of the newly distension discoloration and suppuration putrefaction integrity of the skeleton disjointing reduced to dust
nine stages (ca. 825?) deceased (hochoso) desiccation (hOjinso) (hOranso) skeleton's clavicle (hakkotsu rensii) (hakkotsuriso) (jokeso)
(shinshiso) tseiosii) (sakotsu nao
tsuranarerusii)
Su Tongpo poem of newly distension exudation of putrefaction discoloration and consumption by skeleton disjointing tumulus :::
the nine stages (ca. deceased (hochiisii) blood (hiiransii) desiccation birds and (kotsurenso) (kotsusa nsii} (kofunsii) ;,.
c
1075?) (shinshisii) (ketsuzuso) (seiosii) animals
(tanshokusii)
'"
'"
~
...,
Texts ;,.
::::
Chapters on the True deceased distension discoloration and putrefaction rupture (kaiso) exudation of consumption by skeleton disjointing ~
Meaning of Mahayana (shiso) (rhoso) desiccation iniiransii) blood worms (kotsusasii) (bunrisii] ;,;'"
-<
Teachings (Daijiigishii; (seioso) (ketsuzumansii] (rh'Ushokuso) z
before 592)
n
Discourse on the Great distension rupture exudation of putrefaction discoloration and consumption by dismemberment bones parched to dust o
Wisdom (Dai chidoron, (rhjjso) (kaiso) blood [niiransii) desiccation animals and (sansii) (kossii) (shoso) '"...
ca. 402); Discourse on (ketsuzuso) (Jeioso) birds '"'"z
Mahayana Meditation (tansii)
'-
and Contemplation ;,.
-e
(Maka shman, after :>-
594); Explanations of z
the Doctrines on '"'"
Meditationfor '"
Enlightenment '"r::::::
(Shakuz.en haramitsu e
shidai homon, before
-l
'"
597) ;,.
-l
'"
~
~
~
,.
"-i
tl'
C
Appendix 1 Continued
'"-i
Texts Stage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Z
;;::
9) consumption ;,.
Discourse on the Way of distension discoloration putrefaction rupture remains after mess detaching exudation of
Purity (Seijodiiron, (hOchoso) and (hiiranso) (dankaiso) consumption by (sanransii) (zanshaku blood by worms t'\
"
mid-5th century)*** desiccation birds and risanss) (ketsuzumanso) (rh'Ushuso) =
e
""
(seioso) animals 10) skeleton e
(shokUUlnso) (kotsugaiso) '"-e
o
Entry Gate to the Realm distension discoloration rupture exudation of putrefaction consumption by dismemberment bones (kosso) parched to dust
c
of Ultimate Reality (chOso) and (kaiso) blood (nOmnso) birds and (sansb} (shOso) ;;::
(Hokkai shidai desiccation (ketsuzumansii) animals '"
t'"
hatsumon, 6th (seioso) {lansii) X
X
century) X
<
EssentialMtanings of deceased distension rupture (kaiso) consumption exudation of discoloration and putrefaction bones (kos.so) parched to dust
the Lotus Sutra (Myoho (shiso) (rkOso) by birds and blood desiccation (niiranso) (shoso) z
c
rengrkyo grngi. 6th animals (keuuzumanso) (seioso} ;;::
tl'
century) (tansii}
~sentials of Salvation distension discoloration putrefaction exudation of consumption by consumption by bones disjointing decay into dust "'"
(Ojf1yoshu.985)** (hOchoso) and (nOmnso) blood birds and worms (hakkotsuso) (shisetsu bunnsii) (fukyu
desiccation (nOketsuso) animals (rh'Ushokuso) saimatsusii)
(seioso) (tanshokuso)
Great Wisdom Sutra distension consumption putrefaction bones ridges of bones dismemberment disjointing of skeleton decay into dust
(Dai hannya and by birds and (kairanso) exposed after and sinews (shisetsu bunrisii) bones exposed to wind (fukyu
haramittakyo. 7th discoloration animals rupture (kotsusa kinrenso) (hakkotsu and rain saimatsusii}
century) (hOchOseioso) (shakutansii) (nikuri bunsansii) (gaikotsu bOfUuso)
kotsugrnso)
Sutra on the Samiidhi newly discoloration exudation of putrefaction consum ption by shrinkage into a dismemberment burning (shOsho dry bones
Contemplation of the deceased and blood (hojoso) birds and bundle of (kossetsu bunrisii) kaakuso) (kokotsusii )
Oceanlike Buddha (shinshisii] desiccation (noketsusii) animals firewood
(Bussetsu Kanbutsu (seioss) (shokufushOso) (kinten sokushinsii)
wnmai kaikyii. ca.
400)
Sutra of the Essentials discoloration distension putrefaction rupture exudation of consumption by consumption by skeleton 9) disjointing
of Meditation and (hOrhOsii) (niiranso) (hakaisii) blood birds and worms (kotsusasii) (bunriso)
(Zenyiigyo, before desiccation (ketsuzuso) animals (chushutsusii} 10) rotten
220)*** (seiosii) (shokUUlnso) (fuhaiso)
*The Nakamura version begins its sequence with a predeath portrait.
**Genshin does not number the order of the process of decay in nine stages, but for expediency, I have enumerated his sequence. See O}ayoshu, in Takakusa junjiro and
Watanabe Kaigyoku, eds., Taishii shinshu daiWkyo, 85 vols. (Tokyo: Taishd Issaikyo Kankokai, 1924-34), vol. 84, 38b-c.
***This text exceptionally includes ten stages.
The remammg flesh lies on still half-green spring

Appendix 2 grasses. The remnants of skin become bluish black
before the evening wind.
Contemplation on the Nine stoges of a Decaying Corpse As autumn rains wash the skin away, the bones finally
Attributed to Su Tongpo (translated by the author) appear. When the morning sun rises, the rays are
( I) Newly Deceased about to pierce the head.
Unwillingly it is becoming another object in the field
Usual complexion paled during sickness. Fragrant body with this appearance. How painfully will it circulate
is as if sleeping. in the world after death for a long time!
Beloved old friends sti1l stay. The spirit has already
departed. (6) Consumption by Birds and Animals
A beautiful face quickly fades as flowers in the third
month. Life is brief like falling autumn leaves.
Despite rare visitors in the field, there is life; the beasts
No difference between youth and old age. No escape
competing for the corpse cannot be forbidden.
later or sooner, faster or slower.
The corpse is swollen and the putrefied organs are
apparent in the morning. The sounds of tigers and
(2) Distension wolves eating are heard in the evening.
Hungry dogs are barking in the cemetery. Greedy birds
The distension makes the newly deceased hard to iden-
are gathering in the abandoned grove.

tify. After only seven days, mere vestiges of the The desire that flourishes in this world is a dream of
[original] appearance remain. dreams. But how can we blame desire?
The rosy face has turned dark and lost its elegance. The
raven hair, first withered, is now tangled with grass (7) Skeleton
roots.
Six organs are putrefied and the corpse pushes out Even though a single stone has yet to be set up, the
beyond the coffin. The limbs have hardened and corpse continues to rot. Five parts are still con-
lie on the deserted field. nected to the body.
The field is desolate, and no one is present. The spirit A drinking cup, broken, sits at the side of the pillow.
has gone to the other world in solitude. Tatters of the robe barely cover the body; the rest
is transformed into dust.
(3) Exudation of Blood The corpse used to be a courtly beauty, but is now a
skeleton in the desolate field.
Bones are broken, and sinews have ruptured. Now, the The moon over the field is misty in the clouds and rain.
corpse is in a north province. The appearance has Through the night it is a spirit protecting the
changed, and it is beyond any thoughts. corpse that cries aloud.
The rotten skin has destroyed the face with beautiful
eyebrows. The blood exudes suddenly from the (8) Disjointing
putrefied inner organs.
Transience in this world appears with time. Impurity of The scarce ivy finally covers the bones. Since some are
the body emerges at this moment. scattered and others are spread apart, their origin
At this time, close friends abandon the body and leave cannot be traced.
it in vain. It is as if the sad, cold wind is mourning. The nails and hair are strewn all over, filling the field.
The decomposed head is in the weeds.
(4) Putrefaction Year by year, rainy evenings at the western canyon have
decayed the corpse. The storm at Mount Tai scat-
Even if the ocean can cleanse, at the stage of putrefac- tered it everywhere.
tion, how can it? Immediately the corpse was transformed into dust in
White maggots are crawling inside. Countless green the field of Longmen. Who knows if [the person]
flies are active on the corpse. thrived or withered, or whose coffin this is.
Wind transmits the smell to far distances. The moon
lights the naked corpse in the long night. (9) Tumulus
How sad are the old and new bones beside the grave.
They have accumulated, but nobody knows their All five principles [Sanskrit: skandhaJ are originally val-
names. ueless. What causes us to love the present body?
The spirits that were protecting the hill have flown away
(5) Discoloration and Desiccation to the evening moon. The incapable spirits, having
lost their bodies, whistle in the autumn wind.
What a pity, beside the accreted tomb mounds. The At the pine hill, the name is inscribed, but the human
countenance has finally disappeared, and the form is gone. The bones are transformed into dust
ridges of the sinews and joints are shown. in the grassy field.
46 ART Bt'LLETlN MARCil 21111:) VOLt'ME LXXX\'II l'Ol'MBER I
The inscription on the stone stele is weathered and Daigoji in 1223. While the authenticity of the Kiikai version is ques-
tionable, the stylistic similarity of the poem 10 Kiikai's known works
illegible. Above all, wailing must accompany the has been acknowledged; see Nakamura Tanio, "Kusoshi ernaki no
tomb mound. seiritsu, "in Gaki u'.,hi, Ji/{'lIlU zii.<hi, YIllllai no .,ii.<lIi, Ku.,iishi emaki, ed.
Akiyama Ken et al., Nihon emaki taisei, vol, 7 (Tokyo: Chiio
Koronsha, 1977), 167. In contrast, Kawaguchi Hisao believes that this
work is authentic; see Kawaguchi Hisao, EllIki nll sekai: Tonkii knmno
kllgF (Tokyo: Me\ii Shoin, 1981),217. The provenance of Su Tongpo's
Notes poetry has also been problematic. Aoki Kiyohiko conjectures that the
Su Tongpo version is likely a revision of the Kiikai version, given their
I would like to thank the audience of the Japan Forum at Harvard University, similar phraseology and the decreased sophistication of the latter, Yet
November 21, 2003, and the anonymous readers of ThI' Arl Bulletin for their the Kiikai version itself has been considered suspicious, because it was
helpful comments on this study. I am also grateful to Nakamura Atsuko, included in the 7.oku '(pnjn hokki .,haryo.,hu hok,/,<u.<hn, which was com-
Osa"'d Kenichi, and TSI~i Yasuhiko for their help in obtaining access to the piled in 1079 as a replacement for the three original lost volumes of
artifacts and for arranging the photo permissions. This article is dedicated to Kiikai's ten-volume Shiiryii.,hu. See Aoki Kiyohiko, "Kusokan no hun-
the memory of the late Professor Nakamura Tanio, the former owner of the gaku," Musashino jllshi dlli/{aku ki_vii, no. II (1966): 58-59; and Naka-
scroll that now bears his name. Professor Nakamura purchased the Illustrated mura, "Kusoshi emaki no seiritsu," 167.
Hnndsrroll of IhI' PonTI of IhI' Nine Slaw" of a f)era.ving COT/I." from a gallery just
8. For the Kiikai poem in the 7.oku '(pnjii IllIkki .<h'lrjii.,h11 hllltr/.<u.,hii. see
after being drafted into military service during World War II, and he was the
Sankvii shiki and Shiirvii"hfl, Nihon koten bungaku taikei, vol. 71 (To-
first scholar to publish a study of this subject.
kyo: .lwanami Shoten, 1965), 460-68. For the Su Tongpo version of
Unless indicated otherwise, translations are mine.
the poem, see Akiyama et al., (;llki u1,hi, llO-I!). See also my transla-
I. The subject of the nine stages of a decaying corpse is found in eleven lion in Appendix 2.
Buddhist works. They are listed here by their Japanese titles, along 9. See Aoki Kiyohiko, "Haupon kusoshi seiritsuko," iluklt,l'n IIIlIIgnkll. no.
with the Sanskrit original, when known, or with the corresponding 2 (1978): 66.
Chinese title: Kanbutsu ulnmai kailryii (Chinese: Guanfo .mnM hai jing,
10. "Ayashi no otoko miyazukae no hima ni fl!jokan wo korasu koto" (A

trans. Buddhabhadra [359-429], ca. 400); Dai rhidoron (Sanskrit:
suspicious monk contemplated on impurity in his spart' time), in
Mahii/Jrajfliipllraml/a-!;iislra, trans, Kumarajiva [344-413]); Maka shikan
Kanky" no tomo, ed. Minobe Shigekatsu (Tokyo: Miyai Shoten, 1974).
(Chin.: Mohl' zhiguan, by Zhiyi [538-597]); Shakuzpn haramitsu shidai
111-19.
hiimon (Chin.: Shirhan bolomi ridi [amen, by Zhiyi); II1.viihO TPI/Wk.l'l' w"gi
(Chin.: Miaofa lianhuajing xuan_vi, by Zhiyi); Hokklli shidai hatsumon II. The area of Rendaino (southwest of Mount Funaoka in Kyoto) was
(Chin.: Fajieridi rhumm, by Zhiyi); Daijii gi"hii (Chin.: Dachmg'_viz.}ulIIg, well known at that time for its cemeteries.
by Hui Yuan [52~9]); Olti hanma hammil/akyii (Skt.: _ 12. The condition of the medieval cemeteries is graphically captured by a
Mahii/Jrajfliipiimmilii-JUlm, trans. Xuanzang [600-664]); OjiiyiiJhu (by scene of the late-twelfth-century illustrated handscroll the Hungr:
Genshin, 985); PIIt'1II of IhI' Contemplation on IhI' Nine Slaw" (If a /)Pra)'ill/{ (;110.,1, iu the Tokyo National Museum. Tales of abandoned corpses
Corp." (attributed to Su Tongpo [106~1 O1]); Poem oflhl' Contempla- appear in the story collections Knnjlmu mlll/ll/{nla"; (1077), .'iJlll.<fki.,ki,
tion (In IhI' Nine SI11W.' of a O!!ra_ving Corp", (attributed to Kiikai [774- (1279), and Harhimau glldiiklln (1302).
835]). The account in the OjiiyiiJhu does nOI give a numbered se-
quence, but nine stages of decay are related. In addition to the 13. Alii daruma dai bishnron, in Takakusu and Watanabe, Oaiu,kw" vol, 27,
aforementioned works, two sutras describe the decay of a corpse in 205b. This surra does not list the nine stages of corporeal decay but
ten stages: the Zmyiigvii (Chin.: Chan yao jing, trans. before 220) and rather a method for contemplating on the impurity of a decaying
the .vijiidiimn (Skt.: ViJuddhimaggl', trans. Buddhaghosa [b. ca. 400]). corpse.
Further, the 7.mP(viihiik.vii (Chin.: Chan mi)'aofajing, trans. Kumarajiva 14. Hosshinshu, Dai nihon bukkyo zensho, vol. 147, ed. Zaidan hojin Su-
[344-413]) includes a contemplation on the decay in thirty complex zuki g-dkl!iutsu zaidan (Tokyo: KOdansha, 1972), 214lr-216a.
steps. See App. 1 for the ordering of the stages of decay in these 15. Sm;-it.,hii (vol, 6, chap. 8) also tells the story of a monk's intense con-
sources. In addition, the contemplations on a decaying corpse and templation on the impurity of a decaying mrpse. See SPIljfl.,hn, Dai
the contemplation on white bones are included in other meditation nihon bukkyo zensho, \"01. 91, ed, Zaidan hojin Suzuki gakuiutsu
manuals dated about 400, such as the Darumatara l.PIIlryii (Chin.: Damo zaidan (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1972).
duoluo rhanjin/{, trans. Buddhabhadra), the 7.tlU'll "llIIrnailryii (Chin.:
ZUlllh11n "allM jin/{, trans. Kumarajiva), the 7.mhii lTIgF (Chin.: Chanfa 16. Zhiyi, M,viihii TPl/Wk_Vn gFllgi, in Takakusu and W'lIanabe, Olliu"ik)'l', ml.
_vaoji" trans. Kumarajlva), the Sh(vui ryakuyiihO (Chin.: Sit/ll'i lftryaofa, 33,727a.
trans. Kumarajiva), and the Gomon l.PIIg.vii yO)'uhii (Chin.: WU/nm rhan- 17. For the poem by Bal~i, see Kawaguchi, nnki 1/11 s,kai, 213-14.
jing .vtUryongfa, trans. Dharmamitra [fifth century]). 18. Baoji's farewell poem has survived, but it has not bel'n confirmed
2. Bus."lsu kanbutsu ulI/rnai kailryii, in Takakusu JlIIyiro and Watanabe whether il was gi\'en to the Japanese official Abe no Nakamaro (698-
Kaigyoku, eds., Tai,hO shin.,hu daiziik.vii, 85 vols. (Tokyo: Taisho 770) or Kihi no Makibi (693?-775). See Sugimoto Nal~iro, ..HIP nll Na-
Issaikvo Kankokai, 1924-34), vol. 15, 652b; and Oai rhidomn, in ibid., kllllUlTII dm kPllkyu (Tokyo: Ikuhosha, 1940),201-9.
vol. 25, 218a.
19. The blackened teeth are seen clearly in the next stage of the newly'
3. See Daijo gisM (Chin.: lJarhl'llg_vizhan/{). in Takakusu and Watanabe. deceased.
Daiziikyo, vol. 44, 697c, 735c.
20. Since no Buddhist work containing a description of the nine stages
4. Ibid.; and lJai rhidomn, in Takakusu and Watanabe, f)lliziik.vii, ml. 25, makes mention of the appearance before death, I follow the usual
218a. ordering and designate the newly del'eased as the tirst stage.
5. In its section on the impure aspect~ of the human realm, which in- 21. Unfortunately, the chest area of the corpse in the Raigoji \'ersion is
cludes a description of the stages of a decaying corpse, lhe ()jiiyiishll, weathered and cannot be examined in detail. A laler version of the
in Takakusu and Watanabe, vol. 84, 3~90, refers largely to the Maka nine stages alJiirenz.an Anrakl~i, howe\"l'r, is likely ba~ed on the im-
shikan, in ibid., vol. 46, 1-140. ages in the Raig~j painting, and this shows the corpse covering her
6. In China, four different versions of the poem of the nine stages of a right breast with a raised right hand. This posture accords with the
decaying corpse have survived at the Dunhuang Caves. These versions surviving faint black contours at Ihe breast of the corpse in the
differ greatly from the textual sources. The first through fifth stages Raig~j version,
cover the human aging process, from birth, to adolescence, maturity, 22. Yamamoto Satomi, "Kusolll ni kansuru ichi kosatsu: Nakamurake bon
old age, and pain of sickness. The sixth stage is death. The decay of Kusoshi emaki wo chiishin to shite," W,,..,da daiwzku tlaigakuin bungaku
the corpse begins only in the seventh stage, wilh dislension, continues kPlllryuka kryii 42, no. 3 (1997): 176-77.
in the eighth (putrefaction and bloating), and concludes with Ihe 23. Nakamura Tanio, "Kusoshi emaki no seiritsu," 16fr-70, established the
ninth (bones). For details, see Kawaguchi Hisao, "Tonkobon tanhya- lraditional \iew in 1977 when he aUributed the sequence of the Naka-
kusaishi, kUsOkanshi to Nihon bung-dku ni tsuite," in lJrhino hakas, murd illustrations to the Su Tongpo version of the poem on the nine
kanTPki kinm liiyo/{aku TlIn"ku (Tokyo: Kangi Bunka Kenkyiikai. 1964), stages of deca>·. Yet this interpretation is problematic, because the or-
406-11. der of decay in the illustrations differs from lhat of the poems. The
7. It should be noted that the aUlhenticity of tile Kiikai version ha~ been order in the Su Tongpo version is (I) newly deceased; (2) distension;
challenged. The poem may have been composed by Kiikai himself at (3) exudation of blood; (4) putrefaction; (5) discoloration and desic-
the beginning of the ninth century; it may have been added by Saisen cation; (6) consumption by birds and animals; (7) skeleton; (8) dis-
( I02fr-1115) to his 7.oku hPnjo hokki "hiiryii.,hfl hok,I.<l,..hu (1079), a res- joiming; and (9) tumulus. In contrast, the Nakamura \'ersion shows
toration of the lost volumes of Kiikai's work that includes the poem; the discoloration and desiccation in the sixth stage, with three slages
or it may have been added by a later copier of Saisen 's work at between distension and discolordtion rather lhan the lwo stages speci-
IMAGES OF A DECAYING CORPSE IN JAPANESE 8l'DOHIST ART 47
lied in the poem. To resolve the discrepancy, Nakamura Tanio specu- 39. Azuma kagami, vol. 32 of Shintri who kokushi taikei (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
hues that two illustrations were depicted in the description of the KObunkan. 1932). zenpen, 667.
fourth stage (putrefaction) in the Su Tongpo poem. This explanation 40. See TokuJN>t.>utm l'1Ilaki (Tokyo: Tokyo National Museum, 1974). n.p.
is weakened by the lack of evidence suggesting that two illustrations The Nakamura version was displayed at an exhibition at the Tokyo
existed for a single stage of the careful contemplation on nine dis- National Museum in 1974 with the title Ono no KOII/(vhi jo.su! ,II/aki
crete stages of decay. See also the views of Yamamoto, "Kusozu ni kan- illlustrated Handsrroll of the flourish and D,raJ oj the Up oj Ono ,w Koma-
sum ichi kiisatsu: where she noted the relation of the Maim shikan to rhi). Since the Nakamura painting is dated III the early fourteenth
this painting. century, the painting in the account may have been an earlier version
24. The first stage of newly deceased may owe its origin to the connection of the surviving scroll. Nonetheless, it is hard to imagine that a ver-
between the Nakamura version and the meditation manuals. The sion existed as early as the ninth century, when Ono no Komachi
7.Fnp(JohOk)'o refers to the newly deceased, albeit as the eighth medita- lived. With no strong evidence to connect the text and the painting.
tion. A contemporary sutra, Kanbutsu :anmai kaikyo, mentions the the painting was renamed Kusiishiemaki by Nakamura Tanio in his
newly deceased as the first stage. 1977 study.
25. Maka shikan, in Takakusu and Watanabe, Daiwkyo, vol, 46, 121e. 41. Muso Soseki's close disciple Shun'oku Myoha wrote this biography.
See Myiiha. Tl'1Iryu kaizan MIL,ii ShoKakll Shimhu Fusni kokll,hi '''11/111.
26. The Gmu Wi.,dom Sutra includes various forms of bones without em-
Zoku gunsho ruijii, vol. 203 (Tokyo: Keizai zasshisha, 1897). 497b.
phasis on the whole skeleton. so the sutra is not gh'en in the listing of
sources describing sequential contemplations. In the 7.l'1lpiyiihiikyo. 42. Nakamura Hajime, "Kusiikan: in Iumnnmi bukkyiijitm. ed. Nakamura
which has thirty contemplations. the consideration of bones is empha- Hajime et al. (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1989).208.
sized. with three different contemplations on bones given in the sec- 43. The history of the paintings was learned through inscriptions discov-
ond, tenth, and eleventh stages. ered during restoration of the scrolls in 1889. Previously, it was be-
27, I should note that by the meditation practice I refer not to an ante- lieved that the original set included thirty paintings. A more convinc-
cedent of Zen Buddhism but instead to the essential core practice of ing recent theory holds that the original set comprised only fifteen
Buddhism. paintings. See Kasuya Makoto, "Edo wo meguru: Shoju Raigoji
28. In this p"aper, zen denotes the Buddhist practice of reaching a tran- rokudoe," in KokuhO to rmishi no tabi: Jigolcu to K'Jkuraku imriji to shitmo
scendental state through meditation, as distinguished from Zen. a sect Jakai (Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2000), 20-21.
of Buddhism. 44. For Genshirr's descriptions (~f the process of a corpse's decay and the
29. The most recent arguments are delineated in Yamabe Nobuaki, "The six realms of existence, see (JjiiyOshu. in Takakusu and Walanabe,
Siitra on the Ocean-Like Samiidhi of the Visualization of the Buddha: Daizokyo, \'01. 84. 33a-41 b.
The Interfusion of the Chinese and Indian Cultures in Central Asia as 45. The Raig~ i version departs from the Maka shikan and resembles the
Reflected in a Fifth Century Apocryphal Siitra" (PhD diss.• Yale Uni- Nakamura version in the insertion of the newly deceased and the
versitv, 1999). omission of the bones parched to dust.
30. See MiY<9i Akira, "Turfan Toyuk sekikutsu no zenkankutsu hekiga ni 46. The metaphor is taken from the Maka shikan, in Takakusu and Wa-
tsuite:JodoZll.Jodo kansozu, f\!io kansozu jo ge," Bukkyogrijutsu 223 tanabe. IJahok.Jo, vol, 46, 122a.
(December 1995): 15-35; 226 (May 1996): 38-83. Miyaji links these
47. The Nakamura version shares this strange depiction of white flesh in
murals to the zen meditative sutras, including 7.l'1lpiyiihOkyii, because
the seventh stage, which is contrary to the natural process of decay,
the themes of the murals at the caves largely overlapped with the con-
indicating that these two versions were based on the same model. In
tents of the sutras.
the Edo versions, the sixth and seventh stages were interchanged.
31. Images of the contemplation on the skull have been found in other
48. Compare Ojiiyoshu, in Takakusu and Watanabe, [)aiWkyo, vol, 84. 38b.
caves. including Caves 77. Ito, and 212 at the Kizil Caves, Xinjiang
Province. In the same grottoes, no image of the contemplation on a 49. The inclusion of seasonal trees is a recognized convention of tradi-
decaying corpse has been discovered. so the contemplation on the tional Japanese paintings. However. the explicit and pervasive connec-
bones might have been more essential from the fifth through eighth tion between the pictorial elements and the poem argues ag-ainst the
centuries than the meditation on a decaying corpse. inclusion of seasonal trees in the Raigiiji version simply because of
artistic convention. Moreover, the fact that the three trees are situated
32. The meditation manuals dated about 400. such as the 7.llun
near one another suggests that they derive their significance and sym-
.wnncaik)·ii, the Zmho yOkai, the Shiyui ryakuyoho, and the Gomon U'1/g)'o
bolism from the poem, rather than a conventional idiom for the
yiiyuhii. stress the contemplation on the whole, white skeleton.
th ree seasons.
33. Maka shikan, in Takakusu and Watanabe, [)aiUik)'o, vol. 46. l'llb.
50. The order and names of the nine stages of a decaying corpse in the
34. Ibid .• 1211>-1 22a. Su Tongpo poem differ from those of the Raigiiji version in the third
35. The Raigiiji painting also does not show the stage of bones parched through nimh stages. The relation between the Raigoji painting and
III dust. As in the Nakamura version, the absence of this stage is at- the poem of the nine stages was first noticed by Yoshitani Haruna,
tributable to its adherence to the upper level of contemplation as ex- "Kusozukan saiko: Sono tenkyo ni tsuite," Bijllt.'IL,higaku 17 (1996):
pounded in the Maka shiknn. See the discussion in Yamamoto, 27-50; and "Shoju Raigiiji rokudoc ninde f\!ioso no kosatsu: Bijutsus-
"Kusozu ni kansuru ichi kiisatsu: 173. The significant difference be- higrmu 21 (2000): 1-17. I make clear here my observations, which
tween the Raigoji and Nakamura versions is the degree of faithfulness largely differ from hers.
to the content of the Maka shikan, with the Nakamura version follow- 51. Akiyama et al., Gaki wshi, Ill. Emphasis mine.
ing more closely, despite an adjustment in the order of decay.
52. The Kiikai poem dwells on autumn and winter symbolism, although a
36. See Nakamura Tanio, "Kusoshi emaki no seiritsu." 165-70. spring motif appears in the verse for the sixth stage. See Sankyii shiki
37. Ibid .• 169. Despite the inscription's mention of Tosa Mitsunobu, the and ShOryii"hu, 460-68.
painter of the Nakamura version is unknown. The fourteenth-century 53. Akiyama et al., Galli w"hi, 112. Emphasis mine.
work could not have been painted by a fifteenth-century artist, Naka-
54. The "accreted tomb mounds [lUlUitalU kofunJ" appear in the fifth
mura Tanio mentions that the box is too large for the handscroll and
stage. The ninth stage includes the terms "mound [Jsuka]: "pine hill
that it may not be the original container for the painting. When I
[shOgakuJ: and "grassy field [sotaku]."
viewed this work, the size of the box did not seem inappropriate for
the handscroll. 55. The terms slwgyo mujo (everything is transient) and mujo appear in
Buddhist sutras, including the Daihatsu n,hangyo, KongOkyo.
38. The founder of the Tendai school, Saichii (767-822). studied zen
practice in the Tiantai (Tendai) and Chan (Zen) schools in China. in ShUt.'lI.JOk.Jo, and others.
an attempt to integrate the Dainirhikyo (Skt.: Mahiivaimrana mtra, or 56. The set of paintings at Shiiju Raigiiji treats the transitory aspect of the
Gmlt Illumination Sutra) and the I.otus Sutra. He divided the incoming human realm (nindii mujiisiizu). One painting depicts six scenes that
studenL~ each year at his new Tendai school illlo two specialty prac- are derived from the stories of human transience in the Buddhist
tices: one group studied four importalll meditative practices sutras.
("hikallgO). while the other concentrated on esoteric practices 57. IJaigoji shin yiimku, vol. 12 (Kyoto: Kyotofu Kyiiiku linkai. 1953),856-
(shanaK")' The lilUr important practices. derived from the Maka ..hi- 60. See also the article by Takei Akio. "Daigoji Enmado to sono
kan, were profoundly connected with dh.Jiintl practice. Funaoka Ma- shuhen: Senyomon'in kusozu hekig-a SOtaL~U: Bukkyiigrijulsu, no. 134
koto has observed Ihat Zhiyi developed the Maka shikan from his ear- Uanuary 198\): 57-68. Unfortunately. the mural did not survive, bm
lier compilation. 7.rnmon ShIlShO (Chin.: Chanmm xiw.heng, or Prartia it may have resembled the Raigiiji painting in composition and con·
atullksull of M,dilalion). which treated the practices of chan (un, tent.
meditation). Funaoka Makolo, "Heianjidai no Hieiz.an ni okeru
zenso: in Ishikawa Rikizan and Hirose Ryiiko, eds .• 7.l'1l to Nihon 58. Daigojishin yiimku. 720.
!"II/ka, vol. 10. 7.rn to .",no ,.,kish; (Tokyo: Perikansha. 1999),35. 59. See Kasu}"a Makoto, "Edo wo meguru: 20-21.
48 ART BULLETIN MARC.H 2005 VOLUME LXXXVII NUMBER I
60. Hayashi Masahiko, ed., Rokudiie siiryaku I'1Igi, Densho bungaku 78. Most of the surviving representations of the nine stages in printed
shirvoshii, vol. II (Tokyo: Miyai Shoten, 1983),290-323. books have both the Su Tongpo and walla poems.
61. Maka shikan, in Takakusu and Watanabe, DaizOltyo, vol. 46, 122a. 79. An exception is in the illustration of the first stage, where the tuaka
mentions the sound ofa bell at dusk ("iriai no kane"), and a corre-
62. The selection of a woman as a model for enticement likely stemmed
spondence may be seen in the bell tower in the background of the
from the predominance of men in the monastic societies of medieval
scene.
japan.
80. The Kana Motonobu studio also utilized techniques that drew from
63. Azuma kagami, Kaitei zoho kokushi taikei, vol. 32 (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
the Chinese painting style. seen, for example, in the distant mountain
Kobunkan, 1932), zmpen, 667.
in the first stage, the cedar tree in the fourth stage, the rocks in the
64. Tokue Mototada speculates that this image was the painting of the fifth stage, the willow tree in the third stage. and the pine tree in the
nine stages of a decaying corpse, currently in the Nakamura private ninth stage, with their detailing of texture and three-dimensional rep-
collection, examined in this paper. See Tokue Mototada, Miyai sensho, resentation. However, these technical details seem to have been sub-
vol. 2, Geino, NOgei (Tokyo: Miyai Shoten, 1976), 104. ordinated to the hallmarks of the traditional Japanese-style painting,
65. An example from Ono no Komachi: "Hana no iro wa/utsurini ke- such as round, flat mountains. hovering fog, and a less detailed depic-
rina/itazurani/waga yo ni furu/nagame seshima ni." As translated by tion of figures.
joshua Mostow, "The color of the flowers/has faded indeed/in vain/ 81. The portrayal of a mourning aristocratic man is a pictorial convention
have I passed through the world/while gazing at the falling rain." of the Kano Motonobu studio, and in fact a similar figure is found in
joshua S. Mostow, Pictures of the Heart: The "Hyakunin Isshu" in Word a contemporary work from the same studio, entitled Illustrated Hand-
and Jmagr(Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1996), 168. .rerul/ of Drunken Boy (Shulm diiji emaki), dated J522. Nevertheless. the
66. MyokO rengrkyo, in Takakusu and Watanabe, Dai:l.Okyo, vol. 9, 35c. The use of such a figure in this painting is a marked departure from the
five obstacles that impede women's enlightenment: inability to per- conventional renderings of the subject.
form pure practices, greed, weakness, narrow-mindedness, and 82. The history of the beliefs development into a school is examined by
worldly desires. The three types of obedience required of women are Osawa Kenichi, "Kinsel yUzii nenbutsushii ni okeru Shunkiiki no igi,"
obedience to father, husband, and children (after the husband's in Y'mu nenbutsu shinko no rekishi 10 bijutsu, ed. Ito Yuishin (Tokyo: To-
death). kyo Bijutsu, 2000), 104-5.

67. For the relation between Ono no Komachi's character and the five 83. For basic background information on the Y'Uzu nl'1lbuLfU I'1Igi emaki,
Noh plays, see Sarah M. Strong, "The Making of a Femme Fatale: see Komatsu Shigemi, ed., Y"mu nenbutsu engi. Zoku Nihon emaki tai-
Ono no Komachi in the Early Medieval Commentaries," Monummta sei, vol. 11 (Tokyo: Chiia KOronsha. 1983),94-146; idem, ed., Y'mu
Nipponica 49, no. 1 (spring 1994): 391-412. nenbulsU engi; Zoku Nihon no ernaki, vol. 21 (Tokyo: Chiia Karonsha,
68. Hosokawa Ryoichi, Onna rw chusei: Ono no Komachi, Tomoe, sonota (To- 1992),94-107; and Tashiro Naomitsu, ZOIei Y"uzii nenbutsu engi no
kvo: Nihon Editor School, 1989),247-50; and Gail Chin, "The Gen- kenkyu (Tokyo: Meicho Shuppan, 1976).
d~r of Buddhist Truth: The Female Corpse in a Group of japanese 84. The use of miraculous events to emphasize spiritual efficacy and at-
Paintings," Japanese Journal of &ligious Studies 25, nos. 3-4 (1998): tract new devotees was not a unique feature of the Y"mu emaki. Reli-
296-303. gious institutions employed the strategy in the thirteenth and four-
69. Hayashi Masahiko, Rokudiie siiryaku engi, 310. teenth centuries, and as a result, a substantial number of illustrated
70. During this period, in addition to paintings entitled The Nine Stages of handscrolls portray the miraculous origin and history of temples and
a Decaying Corpse, other works have survived with the titles Ono no Ko- shrines. Tokuda Kazuo, Ologi ziishikmkyu (Tokyo: Miyai Shoten,
machikusiizu (The Nine Slagrsof Dna no Komachi's Dec.aying Corpse) and 1990). 130-200. treats the background to the emergence of the illus-
Dantin kOgii kusiizue (The Nine Stages of Empress Dantin's Decaying Corpse). trated temple histories. The Y"uzu emaki can be distinguished from
other illustrated handscrolls depicting miraculous stories by an obvi-
71. In the Larger Sutra, the Amida's thirty-fifth vow states, "May I not gain ous intent to solicit funds through their prefaces and the bizarre con-
possession of perfect awakening if, once I have attained buddhahood, tent, including an unexpectedly large number of stories treating
any woman in the measureless, inconceivable world systems of all the women (to attract female devotees) and accounts showing Amida's
buddhas in the ten regions of the universe. hears my name in this life light embracing monks in different schools and laity from all social
and single-mindedly, with joy, with confidence and gladness resolves classes.
to attain awakening, and despises her female body, and still, when her
present life comes to an end. she is again reborn as a woman"; Luis 85. This inscription is found on the Y'mu nenbutsu engi emakiin the Cleve-
O. GOmez. trans., Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measu~l land Museum of Art.
Lighl (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1966), 170. In the 86. The kanjin originally meant "encouraging people to believe Buddhism
Muryojukyoshaku (Commmlary on the LargerSUlra). Honen refers to a and to accumulate good merits." The semantic scope of the term
woman's potential for rebirth in the Western Pure Land on the basis later extended to requesting donations and support for building and
of the thirty-fifth vow of Amida, However. he still believed that women renovating Buddhist halls and towers, creating statues, copying sutras,
could be reborn by transforming their female into a male body imme- and improving streets.
diately after death. 87. Sanelaka lciiki. vol, 5 (Tokyo: Zoku Gunsho Ruijii Kanseikai, 1957),
72. For the traditional conceptions of the corpse, see Yamamoto Koji, 399b.
&ga~ 10 Ooharae (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1999), 10-94. See also Katsuda
88. The connection between the Y"mu emaIli and the courtly patrons is
Itaru, Shishatadu no (hUs'; (Tokyo: Yoshikawa KObunkan, 2003). studied by Tashiro Naomitsu. See his Ziilei Y'mu nenbutsu engi no
73. In a presentation at the japanese Art Graduate Student Workshop, kenkyu.45-48.
Princeton, 1998, Yamamoto Satomi, "Realistic Depictions of the Dead 89. See Uchida Keiichi, "Yiizii nenbutsu engi meitokuhanpon no seiritsu
Body in the Kamakura Period," briefly noted on the basis of pictorial haikei to sono ito," Bukkyo griju/sU 231 (March 1997): 39-60; and
and literary evidence the spread of the nine stages along with the Takagishi Akira, "Seiryojibon Yiizii nenbutsu engi to Ashikaga Yoshi-
growing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism. mitsu nanakaiki tsuizen," BukJrjO geijulsU 264 (September 2002): 50-70.
74. The original meaning of nenbutsu is "to think of Buddha." There are 90. See Y"mu nenbuuu kanjinjo, in Tashiro Naornitsu, ZOIei Y"mu nenbutsu
two main types of nenbutsu, contemplative nenbutsu and invocational I'1Igi no kmkyu. 93-98. Tashiro regards this citation as the textual
nenbutsu.The contemplative nenbutsu involves meditating on Amida, source for the Y'mu emaki.
The invocational nenbtusu consists of vocally reciting "Namu Amida
Butsu" (homage to Amida Buddha). 91. As mentioned above, chapter nine of the second volume of the Y"mu
emaIli recounts how the wife of a low-ranking monk was delivered
75. The Dainenbutsuji version has appeared in the following exhibition from the gate of hell by the merit of yu:ii nenbutsu. The accretion of
catalogs: Shiga kenritsu biwako bunkakan, Fodokyo no sekai: Kuf!O suru merit on behalf of the dead was emphasized in the teaching of the
seishinshi (Shiga: Shiga kenritsu biwako bunkakan, 1992), 63£Osaka yu:u nenbutsu. In this particular story, the deceased was rescued from
shiritsu hakubutsukan, Y"mu nenbutsushu:Sono rekishi 10 ikO (Osaka: hell by zealous thaumaturgy. But the usual merit of the yu:u nenbutsu
Osaka shiritsu hakubutsukan, 1991),78-79; and Hyogo kenritsu rek- for the dead was deliverance from the suffering of the six realms of
ishi hakubutsukan, Jigoku: Oni 10 Enma no sekai (Hyogo: Hyago ken- existence and the attainment of salvation.
ritsu rekishi hakubutsukan, 1990),59.
92. KokushasOmokuroku, vol. 2 (Tokyo: lwanami Shoten. 1964). 661-62.
76. The silver pigment used for the moon. unfortunately, has oxidized to Although the Kokuslw siimokuroku lists only seven extant books, at least
a dark gray. ten sets of books on the subject exist in the collections of Waseda
77. Aizawa Masahiko identified the calligrapher in his article "Daiei na- University Library, Tokyo University Library, and the Akagi Bunko
nanenmei Kusashi emaki ni tsuite: Shoki Kanaha yashiki no emaki," Collection. These include five books entitled Kusoshi, two sets (four
Museum. no. 516 (March 1994): 4-21. He also attributed the painting volumes each) entitled KuslishiIISkO. and three sets (two volumes
to the studio of Kana Motonobu. each) entitled Kusoshi grnkai. One of the Kuslishibooks has the later
title Kusiishiekai, but the content is the same as the other Kusbshi; the kaza, vol. I, pt. 3 (Tokyo: Daitokyii Kinen Bunko. 1962), 1-14; Mat-
Kusoshi ekai volume is located in Tokyo University Library. The other subara Hidee, Usuyuki monogalan 10 ologiwshi, kana wshi (Osaka:
four Kusoshi volumes are in the Akagi Bunko Collection (one) and Izumi Shoin, 1997),205-36; Aoyama Tadakazu, Kana ziishijokun
Waseda University Library (three). bungei no kenJryu (Tokyo: Ofiisha, 1982), 5-101; Tanaka Shin, Kana
93. Handscrolls and hanging scrolls as well as books depicting the nine ziishi no kenJryu (Tokyo: Ofiisha, 1974), 158-245; and Richard Lane,
stages of a decaying corpse were also produced during the Edo pe- "The Beginnings of the ModemJapanese Novel: Kana-ZOshi, 1600-
riod. Several have survived, and they are connected with the legend- 1682," Haroardjoumal of Asiatic Studies 20, nos. 3-4 (December 1957):
ary beauties Ono no Komachi and Empress Danrin. 644-701. Although definitions of kana ziishi have been imprecise,
three criteria permit categorization as kana ziishi: the use of kana sylla-
94. The bookstore, Karin Shein, was owned by Sawada Kichizaemon. An
bles, books of a literary rather than a practical nature, and the period
advertisement listing other books sold at the store is found in the last
of production (1600-1680).
few pages of each of the two extant editions.
95. One of these books at Tokyo University Library has the later title 100. According to Lane, "Beginnings of the Modern Japanese Novel," 649,
Kusoshi ekai, and one at Waseda University Library has the subtitle mass woodblock printing reached a peak in quality in the I650s.
Waka oyobi rin (induding waka poems and illustrations). 101. Suggestions by some scholars of a continuing Buddhist purpose for
96. For the Akagi version, see Kinsei Bungaku Shoshi Kenkyiikai, ed., Kin- the illustrations are untenable. Tanaka Shin, Kana ziishi no kenkyu,
sri bungaku shiryoruiju, vol. 10, Kana ziishi hen (Tokyo: Benseisha, 166, points out the tendency in literary scholarship to connect the
1983),505-28. nine stages with etoki.
97. No literary or art historian has completed a comprehensive study of 102. Suzuki Shosan, Ninin bikuni, in Kim'; bungaku shiryo ruiju, vol, 10,
the nine stages in the Edo era. I recently found a literary historian's Kana zashi hen (Tokyo: Benseisha, 1983).351-432.
study on the nine stages of Empress Danrin's corpse. Although her 103. The five Oj~ in the twelfth century are as follows: Zoku honchO
viewsoverlap with mine regarding the function of the Edo printed OjOdm, by Oe no Masafusa, not long after 1102, Shui ojodm, by Miyoshi
books on the subject of the nine stages, her study focuses mainly on no Tameyasu, completed about I I I I, l.oshui OjOdm, by Miyoshi no
the legend of Empress Danrin; Nishijama Mika, "Danrin kaga no sei Tameyasu, completed between 1137 and 1139, .'lange ojOki, by Renzen,
to shi wo meguru setsuwa: Zen no Nihon hatsudentan nyonin kaigo- after 1139, and HonchO shimhu Ojodm, by Fujiwara no Munetomo,
tan to shire," Bukkyo bungaku. no. 25 (2000): 98-113. Because of its 1151.
lack of religious and art historical context. I have concerns about
Nishijama's treatment. 104. ShilJyaku Ojodm, in Kasahara Kazuo, OguriJunko et al., eds., Kinsei
iijOdm shfJsei (Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppansha, 1978). vol. I. 4-82; and
98. The reversal of the stages consumption by birds and animals and dis- Kim'; OjOdm in ibid., vol. 2. 4-30.
coloration and desiccation indicates that the author was aware of
some earlier paintings of the nine stages-perhaps the Raigaji ver- 105. OguriJunko surveyed the characteristics of those who attained their
sion. In the latter, the illustration of consumption by birds and ani- rebirth in ShilJyaku OjOdm and Kinsei OjOdm in ibid., vol, 1,484-85.
mals in the seventh stage shows white, plump flesh that should be an- and vol. 2, 603-4.
tecedent to the dried skin and flesh of the sixth stage. 106. For Suzuki Shosan, see Suzuki Tesshin, Sw.uki Shiisan dOjin umshu (To-
99. For definitions and histories of kana ziishi, see Nihon koten bungaku dai- kyo: SaikibO Busshorin, 1962); and Royal Tyler, "Suzuki Shosan
jitm, vol. I (Tokyo: lwanami Shoten, 1983),670-71; lwanami kiiz.a Ni- (1579-1655): A Fighting Man of Zen" (PhD diss., Columbia Univer-
han bungaku (Tokyo: lwanami Shoten, 1931),3-35; Teruoka Yasutaka, sity, 1977).
"Kana zoshi," in lwanami kihll Nihon bungakushi, vol. 7 (Tokyo: 107. Suzuki Shosan's teaching to women can be found in his Miianjo and
lwanami Shoten, 1958),3-44; Ichiko Teiji, Kana ziishi ni tsuite, Bunka Rnankyo, in Suzuki Tesshin, Sw.uki ShOsan dOjin umshu, 57-58, 188.

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Behind the Sensationalism: Images of a Decaying

Corpse in Japanese Buddhist Art

11 Illustrated Handscroll of the

2 Predeath portrait of an aristocrat

woman, from Illustrated HandscroU of

8 Detail of Fig. 4: discoloration and desiccation

5 Detail of Fig. 4: newly deceased

9 Detail of Fig. 4: consumption by birds and animals

11 Detail of Fig. 4: grave marker

10 Detail of Fig. 4: cartouche

15 A male aristocrat mourning in

17 Pages of the stage

for politics. In the chronological panoramaof Japanese art his-

to high Buddhist subject

how could attain Buddhism in

The remammg flesh lies on still half-green spring

are gathering in the abandoned grove.

10. "Ayashi no otoko miyazukae no hima ni fl!jokan wo korasu koto" (A

death). kyo Bijutsu, 2000), 104-5.

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