Prefectural Designation: Painting of Acala and Two Attendant Children
| Area | Art |
|---|---|
| Collection name | |
| Age | The Nanboku-cho period (1333-1392) |
| Century | The 14th century |
| Painter | |
| Pronunciation of the painter’s name | |
| Date (year, month, day) | |
| Year (Christian Era) | |
| Volume | One hanging scroll |
| Material | Painted on silk canvas |
| Size | 124.5×57.8 |
| Designation | Designated as a cultural property by Hyogo prefecture |
Explanation
This image shows Acala and two attendant children—Kongara and Seitaka. Acala was drawn using flesh verdigris. He is sitting on a shitsushitsuza seat against the background of the Garuda blaze and has the sankozuka sword in his right hand and a rope called kensaku in his left hand. The white-skinned Kongara Child stands with a lotus flower in his left hand. On the right lower side, his right hand is placed on the forehead of Acala. The red-skinned Seitaka Child is standing with a stick in his right hand and a Buddhist vajra called a tokkosho in his left hand.
Acala has a lotus flower on top of his head and his long hair is swept back and tied at the back of his head. He has pigtails dangling on his left chest and is designed to open his eyes. This is an old design of Acala and is called “Takaomandalayo.”
Round-shaped flower patterns created from coloring and gold pigment and gold pigment-based kirikane-style patterns decorate the clothes of the three characters. Regrettably, the face of Acala is damaged by oxidation. However, the facial expressions of the two attendant children imply that they are filled with vividness and life. These features suggest that the image was painted in the Nanboku-cho period (1333-1392).
The inscription on the box says that the image originated from Gokurakuji Temple in Aakashi.
The image was designated as a cultural property by Hyogo prefecture in 2001.
(The Second Collection of Works in the Possession of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, 2002, a piece of writing by Yoshifumi Kanbe was partially modified)