Makiko Motoi - Floating Buddhas, Invisible Buddhas: Setsuwa Traditions of the "Shakadō Engi"

Event details Date: Friday, September 18, 2026 Time: 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Location: Doheny Memorial Library (DML) - East Asian Seminar Room, 110C - 3550 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089 Type: Lecture / Talk / Workshop Campus: University Park Campus Department: Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture About this event This lecture will be presented in Japanese. The Shakadō engi, held by Seiryō Temple in the Sagano region of Kyoto, is an illustrated narrative in six scrolls that depicts the origins and miraculous powers of the temple’s beloved main image, the Sendan Shaka Zuizō (“Auspicious Sandalwood Statue of Śākyamuni Buddha”). The image has long been venerated as the first of the sandalwood images of the Buddha created by King Udayana while Śākyamuni was still alive. The Shakadō engi was produced around 1515 and is famed for its exquisite illustrations, painted by Kanō Motonobu (1476-1559). Representing the culmination of legends about the Auspicious Image (Sendan Shaka Zuizō), the Shakadō engi established itself as the orthodox account of the origins of Seiryō Temple and its main image. Although its narratives about the Auspicious Image were grounded in Buddhist scriptures and Chinese texts, they were developed in a unique way. The Shakadō engi emphasizes two key characteristics that symbolize the Auspicious Image’s nature as a physically alive: first, the image hovers in mid-air (it is a “floating Buddha”); and secondly, some people are unable to see the image, even when standing right before it (it is an “invisible Buddha”). In my talk I will trace the origins of these legends found in Shakadō engi and will also consider how they developed in the broader East Asian context. About the Speaker Prof. Motoi earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature of Kyoto University. She currently holds an appointment of full professor in the Department of Japanese and Chinese Cultures of Kyoto Prefectural University. Prof. Motoi's specialization is religious literary arts, in particular Buddhism-related setsuwa. This event is presented as part of the Ito Center's New Approaches to the Study of Premodern Japan Project, which supports innovative scholarship and new perspectives on Premodern Japan history, literature, religion, and culture. RSVP is requested Official event details: https://calendar.usc.edu/event/makiko-motoi