Description
This priest's robe, twenty-five fragments of twill-silk sewn together, has an interesting legendary background: Ryushu Shutaku (1308-1388), a Zen monk of the Nanzen-ji Temple, once dreamed of obtaining the robe of the Chinese master Wu Zhun (1177-1249). On the very following day, Shutaku was presented with the robe, which the senior priests named “Omui: (the robe in the dream)” based on his auspicious dream. There is no way of ascertaining whether it actually belonged to Wu Zhun or not, but from its peculiar textile, the lively peony arabesque, and the technique of gold-leaf imprint, the date of the robe is traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty. Said to be worn for an audience with the Emperor in his palace, this priest's robe displays splendid artistry.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
September 14, 2026