Artwork

『過去現在絵因果経』断簡（松永本）|Scene from The Illustrated Sutra of Past and Present Karma (Kako genzai e-inga-kyō; Matsunaga Version)

『過去現在絵因果経』断簡（松永本）|Scene from The Illustrated Sutra of Past and Present Karma (Kako genzai e-inga-kyō; Matsunaga Version) is an ink painting. It dates from 1250 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is a hand‑scroll painting executed in ink and color on paper, forming a fragment of a larger illustrated sutra.

About this work

Overview

The work is a hand‑scroll painting executed in ink and color on paper, forming a fragment of a larger illustrated sutra. It depicts a succession of miniature scenes in which the Buddha delivers teachings while a host of demons hover over the audience, serving as visual cautions about the consequences of moral conduct.

Subject & Meaning

Each vignette illustrates the Buddhist principle of karma, contrasting virtuous and sinful actions. The presence of ominous demons functions as a didactic device, meant to intimidate viewers into adhering to ethical precepts by dramatizing the repercussions of misdeeds.

Technique & Style

The artist employs a densely packed composition, filling the narrow scroll with numerous figures rendered in fine ink lines and modest color washes. The style is characteristic of narrative scrolls, using continuous storytelling across a horizontal plane, with a focus on expressive gestures and stylized demon forms.

History & Provenance

This fragment belongs to the Matsunaga version of the Illustrated Sutra of Past and Present Karma, a textual and visual compilation used in medieval Japanese Buddhist practice. The scroll survives as a single piece of a once‑longer manuscript, likely preserved within a temple collection before entering a museum setting.