Blue Immovable

Japanese: 青不動 - あおふどう
Blue Immovable

This is the common name for the statue of Acala with two children, housed at Shoren-in Temple in Sanjobo-cho, Awataguchi, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City. It is a national treasure. It is so named because the statue's body is painted in blue-black on silk. The blue or blue-black color is said to have the meaning of subjugation. Behind Acala, who has a wrathful expression and is in the state of Kajo-zamai, a blazing flame is intricately depicted in vermilion, crimson, and black, and his brown hair is streaked with delicate gold lines. On either side of Acala are two children, Kongara and Seitaka, who are his messengers, creating a stable triangular composition. The refined, vivid colors and flowing lines are characteristic of Buddhist paintings from the Fujiwara period, and there is a theory that the artist is identified with Enshin (also written as Enshin, Enshin, or Enjin), a painter and Buddhist sculptor active during this period, as their brushwork resembles that of Enshin. Enshin's original painting no longer exists, but there are copies of it in the Daigo-ji Temple Acala image and in the Besson Zakki. Regardless of whether or not it can be considered the work of Enshin, it is highly regarded not only as a masterpiece of Acala imagery, but also as a masterpiece of Buddhist painting, along with the Red Acala of Mount Koya and the Yellow Acala of Onjo-ji Temple.

[Shinichi Nagai]

"Aobudou" by Kameda Tsutomu (included in "Japanese Buddhist Art History Narrative" 1970, Gakugei Shorin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

京都市東山区粟田口(あわたぐち)三条坊町にある青蓮院(しょうれんいん)所蔵の不動明王二童子像の通称。国宝。絹地に着色で描かれた不動の身を青黒色に表しているところからこの称がある。青色あるいは青黒色は調伏(ちょうぶく)の意味をもっているといわれる。火生三昧(かじょうざんまい)に入る忿怒(ふんぬ)相の不動の背後に、燃え盛る炎を朱、丹(に)、黒をもって精妙に表し、茶褐色の頭髪は繊細な金泥の線をもって毛筋を入れている。不動の両脇(わき)にその使者である矜羯羅(こんがら)、制吒迦(せいたか)の二童子を配し、三角形の安定した構図をとる。洗練された鮮やかな彩色と、伸びのある描線は、藤原期の仏画の特色を示しており、この期に活躍した絵仏師円心(円深、円信、円尋とも書く)の筆法に似ているところから、作者を円心に比定する説がある。円心の真筆は現存しないが、醍醐(だいご)寺の不動明王図像や『別尊雑記』に転写したものが伝えられている。これを円心の作とみるかどうかは別にしても、高野山の赤不動、園城寺(おんじょうじ)の黄不動とともに、不動明王画像の名品としてばかりでなく、仏画のなかの名作として高く評価されている。

[永井信一]

『亀田孜著『青不動画』(『日本仏教美術史叙説』1970・学芸書林・所収)』

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