Description
Fugen (Skt. Samantabhadra) appears in its “Life-Extending” form when the bodhisattva rides on a white elephant with three heads, a magical elephant standing on a Treasure Wheel that is itself supported by dozens more white elephants. Fugen was worshiped in this form within the Tendai Buddhist context; the painting comes from Shōren’in in Kyoto, a famous Tendai temple. It is the object of prayers for longevity.
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
July 20, 2026