The Fusion of Sutra and Setsuwa Narratives and the Construction of Illustrated Temple Legends: An Examination through the Formation of a visual iconography

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K00151
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01060:History of arts-related
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Yamamoto Satomi 早稲田大学, 文学学術院, 教授 (00366999)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 日本中世絵画史 / 仏教説話画 / 寺社縁起絵巻 / 六道絵 / 法華経絵

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this project, I broke down motifs and compositions depicted in medieval narrative paintings, such as illustrated temple legends, into a "visual iconography.” I then explored how this visual framework relates to the textual significance of the related sutra and setsuwa narratives. For example, I identified iconographic motifs associated with meanings such as love, war, violation of the Buddhist precepts, disaster, supervision, repose for the departed, spiritual awakening, ruin, and reconstruction. By extracting examples of their use across many individual works, I clarified the function of the pictorial lexicon that is shared across different subjects, such as illustrated temple legends, paintings of the Six Realms, and the Lotus Sutra. In addition, I noted cases in which the interpretation of the " visual iconography” changed, where a composition was associated with multiple meanings due to differing contexts, highlighting the dynamic relationship between image and meaning.

Free Research Field

美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来、六道絵や法華経絵といった主題別に分析されることが多かった中世説話画について、造形語彙の観点から横断的研究を行う視角が開かれた。図像解釈の前提となる経典や説話との結びつきについての知見が蓄積され、従来以上に高い精度での画面理解が可能となった。また、分野横断的な共同研究（特に美術史と文学）を促進すると同時に、国際シンポジウムの主催や共催を通じて日本絵画史研究のグローバル化にも貢献した。さらに、本研究課題に関連した公開講座、一般書の刊行、展覧会の開催も実現することができ、学術成果の社会還元にも努めた。