I​l​l​u​s​t​r​a​t​e​d​ ​S​c​r​o​l​l​ ​o​f​ ​B​u​d​d​h​i​s​t​ ​O​f​f​e​r​i​n​g​ ​I​t​e​m​s

The Buddhist tradition of offerings expresses reverence, recollection, and the cultivation of merit through incense, flowers, lamps, scented ointments, food and drink, music, and other offerings. The forms of offering utensils and offerings also changed according to temple ritual regulations, regional aesthetics, and the craftsmanship of different periods. This work, titled “Illustrated Scroll of Buddhist Offering Items” and attributed to Katsuragawa Hoshu, focuses on organizing offerings before the Buddha and related utensils through images. Katsuragawa Hoshu was an important figure in the dissemination of Rangaku, medicine, and natural knowledge during the Edo period, and such illustrated scrolls may also be read at the intersection of knowledge classification, illustrated compendia production, and the material culture of Buddhist ritual in early modern Japan.