Images of Amitabha Buddha

In Japan, popular belief held that the year 1052 marked the beginning of mappō 末法, the degenerate Third Age of Buddhism, a 10,000-year period in which Buddhist teachings slowly disappear until they are revived by the next buddha, Maitreya, who begins a new cycle. Declining social order in Japan, culminating in the civil wars of the mid- to late 12th century, reinforced this idea. One consolation was belief in the Buddha Amida (Amitābha), who had created an alternate universe in which the believer could be reborn, the Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī), where all things were perfect and designed to lead one to complete enlightenment.

This rare, early print bears multiple woodblock-printed images of Amida Buddha. Applied by a lay believer or monk, this act reflects the devotional practice of repeating acts of merit, often verbal or mental; here the technique results in a kind of visual prayer for salvation. Such prints were sometimes collected and placed within sculptural icons, both further consecrating the statue and cementing the printer’s spiritual connection with the deity.