Volume 2 of Illustrated Origins of Kiyomizu Temple

This illustrated scroll depicts the origin and history of the establishment of Kiyomizu-dera, a temple in Kyoto that is still a popular tourist destination. It also features the temple's principal deity, the Thousand-Armed Kannon, or Sahasrabhuja. The work is three volumes in total. This, the second volume, shows the temple being built by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, a warrior who conquered Japan's eastern provinces during the Heian period, which lasted from 794 to 1192. It also portrays the enshrinement of images of the three deities Sahasrabhuja, Ksitigarbha, and Vaisravana.

You can see the temple's famous wooden veranda and Deva gate at the center, though the buildings that should be located between these two landmarks are absent. Instead, the artist has painted mist and trees. Mist is used in Japanese paintings when switching or omitting scenes. Tosa Mitsunobu was a representative painter of the Muromachi period, which lasted from around 1392 to 1573. He also became the top painter to the imperial court.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.