The bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Fugen Bosatsu)

This Buddhist painting shows the bodhisattva of benevolence Samantabhadra, called Fugen in Japanese. As described in the Buddhist scripture The Lotus Sutra, Fugen is mounted on a six-tusked elephant. He makes the gesture of prayer with both hands before his chest. In the Japanese tradition Fugen personifies the active aspects of the Buddha’s teachings: meditation and practice. He is often shown as an attendant of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, paired with his counterpart, Manjushri (Japanese: Monju). While Fugen is depicted on an elephant, Monju is shown riding on a lion. Worship of Fugen reached its height in the late Heian period (794–1185), a pessimistic time during which people feared an imminent decline in the power of the Buddha’s teachings. Many believed that Fugen would protect those teachings with all his power; he was also seen as an effective protector of women. Scholar Miya Tsugio speculates that women may have sponsored such paintings “as an outgrowth of their particular interest in the sutra.”