Monk Renshō Riding His Horse Backwards

Monk Renshō Riding His Horse Backwards

Matsumura Goshun

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A famed military hero of the Genpei War (1180–1185), Kumagai Naozane, haunted by regrets for the lives he took on the battlefield, renounced his worldly ways to become a follower of the Pure Land School of Buddhism. Changing his name to Renshō, he vowed to never again turn his back on Amida, the Buddha of the western paradise. Artistic renditions often draw on the resulting anecdote that Renshō, when traveling from Kyoto to the Kantō region of Japan (in the east), quite literally had to sit on his horse backwards in order to not break his promise. Goshun paints the theme in the typical casual manner of haiga (painting in the spirit of haiku). According to the signature, it was executed in a guest house in Minume, a place of ancient poetic associations, now part of the city of Kobe.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Monk Renshō Riding His Horse BackwardsMonk Renshō Riding His Horse BackwardsMonk Renshō Riding His Horse BackwardsMonk Renshō Riding His Horse BackwardsMonk Renshō Riding His Horse Backwards

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.