お釈迦さまの生涯を描くことに全身全霊をかけた仏画家・野生司香雪。

インドで仏教再興を志して昭和6(1931)年に鹿野苑（サールナート）に建てられた初轉法輪寺(Mulagandhakuti Vihara　根本香精舎)の壁画に彼は『釈尊一代記』を完成させました。

昭和7(1932)年から昭和11(1936)年の約5年間もの年月をかけたその画業は、異郷の風土というだけではなく資金の欠乏にも悩まされながらのもので、まさに捨て身の苦行のように精進を続けられた成果でありました。

その香雪の仏画家としての集大成であり、また最期の大作でもあるのが仏教伝道協会の所蔵する『釈尊絵伝』です。昭和30(1955)年に仏教伝道協会発願者の沼田惠範氏から製作を依頼されたものですが、画伯は製作途中で脳出血を患ってしまいました。しかしその治療とリハビリを繰り返しながらも製作を続けられ、昭和34(1959)年7月ついに7枚の絵画として完成されたのです。

この香雪が命を賭けて描きあげた『釈尊絵伝』全点を展示します。

自筆の手紙などとともに香雪の畢生の大作である仏画の世界をお楽しみ下さい。

Kosetsu Nousu – A painter who dedicated his life to the Buddha

Kosetu Nousu is a Japanese painter who devoted his life to producing Buddhist paintings depicting the life of the Buddha.

Nousu completed a magnificent mural painting depicting the life of Buddha at the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar Temple in Sarnath, India. During the process of achieving this significant work, which took him about five years from 1932 to 1936, Nousu was accosted by considerable challenges such as being in a totally different country and culture as well as a lack of funds. It was as if Nousu was devoting himself to ascetic practices even at the risk of his life.

Nousu’s finest and final masterpiece is “The Life of Buddha”, owned by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai(Society for the Promotion of Buddhism). Rev. Dr. Yehan Numata, the founder of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, commissioned Nousu to produce this piece in 1955. Unfortunately, however, the artist was attacked by cerebral apoplexy during its production. Even though he was going through recovery and rehabilitation, Nousu never stopped working on his work, and finally the magnificent masterpieces of seven paintings were completed in July, 1959.

This is a must-not-miss opportunity to witness Nousu’s last and the finest Buddhist masterpiece as well as to view some of the letters he wrote during his lifetime.