The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Welcoming Descent of Amida with Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas

mid-1300s

Japan, Nanbokuchō period

(1336–92)
Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, silver, and cut gold on silk
Painting: 164.5 x 137.7 cm (64 3/4 x 54 3/16 in.); Mounted: 255 x 166.6 cm (100 3/8 x 65 9/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2025.138
Location: 235B Japanese

Did You Know?

One of the percussive instruments played by the bodhisattvas in the painting is called a paiban or hakuban in Japanese.

Description

This painting depicts the Buddha Amida arriving to escort a dying person to his Pure Land, or Western Paradise. He is attended by an entourage of 25 bodhisattvas, enlightened beings who are committed to serving others, many of whom provide orchestral accompaniment to herald the momentous occasion. The bodhisattva Kannon kneels, holding a lotus dais for the deceased to ride to their destination.
  • by 1688–at least 1854
    Seiryūzan Shōgon’in Jōchiji 清瀧山荘厳院浄智寺, Awa, Tokushima, Shikoku, Japan
    Hosomi Ryo 細見良 [1901–1978], Osaka, Japan
    Robert H. Ellsworth [1929–2014], New York, NY
    March 29–30, 1996
    (Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc., New York, NY, March 29–30, 1996 sale, Lot 405, sold to Tajima Mitsuru of London Gallery)
    1996–2025
    (London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, Robert L. Brown, Robert E. Fisher, George Kuwayama, and Amy G. Poster. Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian Art. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1984. cat. no 173
    Nenge mishō: Bukkyō bijutsu no miryoku [拈華微笑: 仏敎美術の魅力 = Buddha's smile: masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist art]. Tōkyō: Rondon Gyararī, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 109, pp. 196–197
    Tajima, Mitsuru, and Kayoko Komori. Nenge mishō II: hotoke no michi [拈華微笑ねんげみしょう II : 仏の道 = Buddha's smile II : transcending time and space]. Tokyo: London Gallery Co., Ltd., 2010. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 168, pp. 274–275 and 374
    Hashimoto, Mari 橋本麻里. Mappō/apocalypse: ushinawareta Mushakuan korekushon o motomete [末法/apocalyse: 失われた夢石庵コレクションを求めて = Mappō, apocalypse: in pursuit of the lost Mushakuan collection]. Kyoto: Hosomi Art Museum, 2017. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 11, pp. 042–043, 182
  • Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).
    Mappō/apocalypse: ushinawareta Mushakuan korekushon o motomete [末法/apocalyse: 失われた夢石庵コレクションを求めて = Mappō, apocalypse: in pursuit of the lost Mushakuan collection].Hosomi Museum, Kyoto, Japan (October 17-December 24, 2017).
    Nenge mishō II: hotoke no michi [拈華微笑ねんげみしょう II : 仏の道 = Buddha's smile II : transcending time and space]. Fukui Fine Arts Museum, Fukui, Japan (October 9-November 3, 2010).
    Nenge mishō: Bukkyō bijutsu no miryoku [拈華微笑: 仏敎美術の魅力 = Buddha's smile: masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist art]. Okura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan (November 2-December 24, 2000).
    Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian Art. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (March 4-May 20, 1984); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (June 30-August 26, 1984); Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (November 1, 1984-February 10, 1985).
  • {{cite web|title=Welcoming Descent of Amida with Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas|url=false|author=|year=mid-1300s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.138