Medicine Master Buddha and the Twelve Divine Generals1200s · Study 1938.422

Context from the museum

From the 700s, people in Japan began praying to the Medicine Master Buddha (Yakushi Nyorai) for longevity. Yakushi is at the center of this image, flanked by the bodhisattvas of the sun and moon, Nikkō and Gakkō. The Twelve Divine Generals, a group of protective deities, surround him. Yakushi sits in a meditative pose with his right hand in a gesture bestowing fearlessness while his left hand holds a medicine jar. In the upper part of the painting, rectangles simulating decorative paper inscription slips contain excerpts from a sacred text about Yakushi, in which he asks that sick people who speak his name should become well and that all who hear his name might have their purity restored.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Each of the Divine Generals has an identifying zodiac animal in his hair or headdress.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for Medicine Master Buddha and the Twelve Divine Generals is 84.1 cm wide and 151.2 cm high, equivalent to approximately 33.1 × 59.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.56:1. The rectangular bounding area is 1.27 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 28.0% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 108.0 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Medicine Master Buddha and the Twelve Divine Generals in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Hanging scroll painting; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 84.1 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?