This painting is a visual presentation of a teaching ascribed to the Chinese Buddhist monk Shandao (善導) (613–681). It describes a challenging journey to the land of the Buddha Amida along a narrow path between a river of fire and a river of water. The story is about escaping the six paths of reincarnation—the heavens and hells, as well as the realms of humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and fierce beings. The Buddha Amida appears at the top in his Pure Land, or Western Paradise.

Japanese Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 30-October 15, 1961); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (November 9-December 17, 1961).

Japanese Decorative Style

Journey of the Three Jewels: Japanese Buddhist Paintings in Western Collections. Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (organizer) (October 11-December 9, 1979); Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (March 27-May 11, 1980).

Journey of the Three Jewels: Japanese Buddhist Paintings in Western Collections

Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983).

Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art

Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).

Images of the Mind

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cooperative Program of the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties (organizer).

The Cooperative Program of the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).

Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).

Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art

Heaven and Hell: Salvation and Retribution in Pure Land Buddhism. San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX (organizer) (June 16-September 10, 2017).

Heaven and Hell: Salvation and Retribution in Pure Land Buddhism

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-July 16, 2003).

A hanging scroll depicts various scenes against a dark blue background, the cracked surface and smeared paint obscuring details. Above and center, three gold deities sit cross-legged in front of a sprawling building, with three, gold, standing figures a third their size below. Center left, people wrestle against a swirling, red background. Further people, with medium-light to light skin tones, become harder to decipher but run holding weapons and sit in grass, among other things, below. A house sits in the lower left corner.

(Howard Hollis and Co., Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

The White Path Between Two Rivers

二河白道図

Japan, Kamakura period

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The White Path Between Two Rivers

二河白道図

Japan, Kamakura period

Did You Know?

Description

The White Path Between Two Rivers

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Visually Similar by AI

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