Jakabffy Imre szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 13. (Budapest, 1971)
HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Horváth, Tibor: Notes to the Iconography of the White-robed Kannon
en the rocks by the waler, with Iiis right leg on bis left knee, leaning on bis left arm, a rosary in his hand. In ibis picture the moon is not visible. 17. Shuko Kannon (Kannon treasured by All). According lo tin 1 specifications, he is sitting on a bank with his right leg streched out and his left pulled up, leaning on his right hand. In the Kencho-ji series Kannon is leaning on his left hand in only one of the pictures. He is depicted sitting on tlie bank or on the edge of a rock, and probably according to a popular legend is bathing his feet, that are bare to the knees, in the waterfall rushing from ihe nearby rocks. 18. Iwalo Kannon (Kannon in the .Niche of a Rock), fig. •">. This is one of the most easily recognizable pictures in the same time one of the most scenic ones, with a beautiful depiction of the mouth of a cave and layers in ihe rock 17 . According to the drawing found in ihe Butsuzo Zukan. Kannon is silling in dyana sana position. Kannon in the Kencho-ji picture is also sitting in the dyana sana position, but in his right hand he is holding a lotus flower with a long stem and his left hand is resting on his thigh with his palm pointing upwards and some of his lingers bent. The appearance of the third eye on his forehead is very surprising. There is a silting Amitabha on his diadem. Thus the difference between the two figures is rather great. It is quite possible that the Butsuzo Zukan classification represents a later stage in development, when the former style of painting started developing in two different ways. On the one hand it continued in the Iwalo Kannon method of painting and on the other hand if led to the lloku Kannon figure, holding the loi us flower with ihe long stem, a Kannon variation that did not become popular in Japan. 11). Nojo Kannon (Kannon of fulfilled Tranqillity). "He is standing among hugi 1 rocks with a hand resting on one. showing no sign of fear". The similarity between the iconographical model and the Kencho-ji painting is surprisingly great. 21. Kori Kannon (Kannon with a Shell). According lo Kannon no shirube, "he appears from the shell of hamaguri ' and In the picture a large shell can be seen beneath or in front of the goddess, who is silting in the dhyana sana position, with her hands in her lap. concealed in the sleeves of her robe. In ihe Kencho-ji painting. The painting of the niche in the rock created by Session in 1 406 with ihe pictures of Bodhidharma and llui-k'e (Sainen-ji, is al present in the Tokyo .National Museum), and it is here thai the most effective depiction is achieved. From the stylistic point of view 7 of the ink paintings, it is worthwhile comparing the painting by Sesshu with the Iwalo Kannon (Kannon in the Cave) in the Kancho-ji. It is obvious that the rock, in both paintings, in accordance with the spirit of Zen. serves nol merely as background, but plays as important a role as the figures in the pictures. 'There is an interesting dependent relationship, in Sesshu's painting, between Bodhidharma and llui-ke. The very position of Bodhidharma on the painting is eminent, but light strips of varying widths can be seen leading lo him from the left side of Iiis- picture and the contours of his white robe have been painted with thick, even brush strokes, first of all, Hui-k'e is standing in a coiner of the picture, his figure is reduced by the lines of the foreground broken by him and by the thinner outlines of his robe. But in any case, the thickness, or relative thickness, of the outlines in both pictures harmonizes with the thicker countours of the rocks. The artist in the Kencho-ji picture has not achieved the impressive effect of the rocks by painting thicker outlines, but by varying the tones of the different layers, in such a way thai all the outlines stand out sharply and are in fact, even more effective due to the accompanying darker toned patches of varying sizes. At the same time, the robe of the Kannon, silting in the niche in the rock, is drawn with strokes of varying widths, but mostly thin and light, creating a peculiar rhythm which contrasls with the heavy mass of rock in the niche. As a style this probably goes back lo the Sung Period, so that in later centuries it was regarded as a tradition — a classic tradition in style. The situation is different in the case of Sesshu, for the harmony of the contours of the rocks and the figure, in the picture in question, shows a new development in the direction of a more powerful and monumental style.
