Portraits of the Seven Patriarchs of Shingon (Color on Silk)

Portraits Kukai Brought from China

The Portraits of the Seven Patriarchs of Shingon (Color on Silk) (絹本著色眞言七祖像) is seven portraits of the patriarchs of Shingon Buddhism from the Tang and Heian periods, owned by Kyoogokokuji (Toji) in Minami Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1952 were designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records seven hanging scrolls owned by Kyoogokokuji.

According to the Nara National Museum, sets of patriarch portraits showing the Shingon lineage go back to those that Huiguo had the court painter Li Zhen and others make for Kukai when he returned from China in 806.

Origins

According to the Nara National Museum, Kukai's inventory of items brought from China lists portraits of five patriarchs, Vajrabodhi, Subhakarasimha, Amoghavajra, Huiguo and Yixing, each on three joined widths of silk; five of the Toji portraits are exactly these.

The remaining two, Nagarjuna and Nagabodhi, were made by Kukai in 821 to complete the set.

What to Look For

The Nara National Museum notes that the earliest surviving set of eight patriarchs, with Kukai added, is in the wall paintings of the first storey of the Daigoji pagoda, completed in 951, whose seven patriarchs follow the Toji set; nearly all later sets derive from this line.

The five Tang portraits and the two Kukai added survive together, showing the source of Shingon patriarch portraiture.

Visiting the Portraits of the Seven Patriarchs of Shingon (Color on Silk)

The portraits are owned by Toji and are not always on display; check the temple's announcements.