Welcoming Descent of Amida Japan, Kamakura period, 1300s hanging scroll, ink, color, and gold on silk, 41 3/4 x 14 7/8 inches (106 x 37.8 cm) Gift of Mary C. Lanius 1974.5

Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is shown standing on two cloud-borne lotuses. He welcomes the deceased into his Western Paradise, the Pure Land (Jodo), where faithful devotees are reborn. Earlier raigo (welcoming descent) images from the 1000s show Amida arriving with a heavenly retinue of attendants. In the late Kamakura period (1185-1333), simpler raigo paintings depict a solitary Amida.


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