If you move towards the other side of Yūsei-en, you will finally arrive at Ōjō Goraku-in. In his writings, Yasushi Inoue referred to this small hall as the “Jewelry Box of the Orient.” The first objects that catch your eye when you enter the room are the cluster of three Buddhist statues. In the middle Amitabha, on the right Guanyin Bodhisattva, and on the left Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva. These three statues make up the Amitabha triad.
The Amitabha triad are three of the most important Buddhist figures in the Pure Land Buddhism faith. Amitabha has sworn as a buddha to protect all living beings in the world and to lead them on their journey to the pure land.
The pure land Sect of Buddhism, or Jōdō Buddhism, first gained popularity in the middle of the Heian era, but it wasn’t until then when temples such as Uji’s Byōdō-in and Ohara’s Ōjō Goraku-in put a spotlight on Jōdō Buddhist Paintings.
The statues of Guanyin and Mahasthamaprapta in Ōjō Goraku-in appear to be sitting in a type a traditional sitting style known as yamato-zawari, in which the torso is slightly raised and not resting on the legs. Buddhas are hardly depicted sitting in this style so these statues are actually very unusual. These bodhisattvas have their backs bent at an angle and are looking diagonally down at the floor, insinuating that they are looking down at the people praying to them.
If you look up at the ceiling of Ōjō Goraku-in you will see that it has turned completely black over time, which is due to oil from lanterns and a practice from the Edo period in which incense were lit before rituals. On the ceiling were depictions of bodhisattvas and other heavenly beings which were said to assist the Amitabha Triad in guiding spirits to the pure land. There is an illustration of the original painting in the museum we will visit next, the En’yū Warehouse, so be sure to check it out before you leave.
