JTA Sightseeing Database

Select a language

  • HOME
  • Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity (Kasuga Gongen Genki-e)

Title Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity (Kasuga Gongen Genki-e)

  • Tokyo
Topic(s)：
Historic Sites/Castle Ruins Shrines/Temples/Churches
Medium/Media of Use：
Pamphlet
Text Length：
251-500
FY Prepared：
2023
Associated Tourism Board：
dokuritsu gyosei hojin kokuritsu bunkazai kiko kokyo sannomaru shozokan jumbi shitsu
Associated Address：
1-8, Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

春日大社の伝説


春日権現の伝説、または春日巻物は、総称して春日権現として知られている５つの神の物語を描いた14世紀の手巻(絵巻)のセットです。絵巻は、絵巻物を広げると右から左に現れる絵とテキストの組み合わせで物語を描きます。春日権現の伝説には、アクションや冒険譚から宗教的なエピソードや歴史物語まで、幅広いジャンルの物語が含まれています。貴族の西園寺公衡(1264–1315)が奈良の春日大社への供物として依頼し、1309年頃に完成しました。


公衡は、強力で貴族的な藤原家の支流であった西園寺家の当主でした。14世紀初頭、公衡は後宇多天皇(1267–1324)との論争に巻き込まれ、朝廷での地位が不安定になり、1306年1月に解任されました。しかし、2か月後、彼は宮廷の地位を取り戻し、1309年に左大臣に昇進しました(実際には、宮廷での最高職)。彼が政治的地位から転落した後の、宮廷での公衡の幸運は、彼に深い感謝の気持ちを植え付け、藤原家の氏社である春日大社に献上するこの素晴らしい巻物を依頼するに至りました。


春日絵巻は、絵巻の傑作と見なされています。宮廷画家の高階隆兼（生没年不詳）が春日権現験記絵の制作を担当し、春日の神々の奇跡に関するさまざまなストーリーの巻物を20巻制作しました。宗教的な供物にふさわしいように、巻物は紙の代わりに絹に描かれました。さらに、巻物は非常に大きいため、手で広げるのが難しくなりました。しかし、巻物は春日大社に捧げられており、定期的に読むことを意図したものではなかったため、これは問題ではありませんでした。


春日権現験記絵はめったに開かれなかったため、その内容は驚くほどよく保存され、元の鮮やかな色彩を保っています。隆兼の絵は、細部にまでわたり忠実に描かれた建築物に定評があります。季節の変わり目に秋の森に軽い雪が舞う様子や、まずい食べ物を捨てる男たちのユーモラスな描写など、巻物は魅力的な驚きと、人生のありふれた日常への畏敬の念を明らかにします。

Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity (Kasuga Gongen Genki-e)


Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity, or the Kasuga Scrolls, is a set of fourteenth-century handscrolls (emaki) depicting stories of the five deities that are collectively known as the Kasuga Gongen. Emaki depict stories through a combination of pictures and text that is revealed from right to left as the scroll is unrolled. Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity contains a wide range of genre stories from religious episodes to historical tales brimming with action, adventure, and miraculous events. The aristocrat Saionji Kinhira (1264–1315) commissioned the scrolls as an offering to the deities of Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara, and they were completed around 1309.

Kinhira was the head of the Saionji family, which was a branch of the powerful and aristocratic Fujiwara family. In the beginning of the fourteenth century, Kinhira became involved in a dispute with Retired Emperor Gouda (1267–1324), and his position in the imperial court became unstable, culminating in his dismissal in January of 1306. Two months later, however, he had regained his courtly position, and in 1309 he was promoted to Minister of the Left (in practice, the most powerful role in the courtly bureaucracy). Kinhira’s good fortune at court after the near destruction of his political career instilled in him a deep sense of gratitude and inspired him to commission this set of splendid scrolls for Kasuga Taisha, the patron shrine of the Fujiwara family.

The Kasuga Scrolls are considered to be a masterpiece of the emaki medium. The court artist Takashina Takakane (dates unknown) undertook the painting of Illustrated Miracles of the Kasuga Deity, producing 20 scrolls of stories describing the miracles associated with the Kasuga deities. As befit a religious offering, the scrolls were painted on silk instead of paper. In addition, they are exceptionally large and are difficult to unroll by hand. This was not an issue, however, as the scrolls were dedicated to Kasuga Taisha and were never meant to be read regularly.

Since the Kasuga Scrolls were rarely opened, they are remarkably well preserved, retaining their original vivid colors. Takakane’s paintings are lauded for their remarkable detail and faithful rendering of architecture. From light snow dusting autumn forests at the turn of the season to a humorous depiction of a man tossing out foul-tasting food, the scrolls reveal charming surprises and a reverence for the commonplace minutiae of life.

Search