鳴き龍、八方睨み龍の異名をもつ天井画。時空を超えた仏殿 【京さんぽシリーズⅡ】 　A ceiling painting with the nickname of the crying dragon and the Happo glaring dragon. Buddhist temple that transcends time and space

相国寺は臨済宗五山の中でも文化芸術の領域に昔から深い関心を示した寺院で有名である。書や画にたけた僧侶を育てる環境があったようだ。
とくに江戸時代には、狩野派の絵師をはじめ、伊藤若冲や円山応挙、池大雅などの天才絵師といわれた面々との交流が盛んに行われ、その傑作を多く残している。

Shokoku-ji is famous for its long-standing interest in the area of culture and art among the five mountains of the Rinzai sect. It seems that there was an environment for raising monks who were good at writing and drawing.
Especially in the Edo period, there was a lot of interaction with people who were said to be genius painters such as Ito Jakuchu, Maruyama Okyo, and Ike no Taiga, including Kano school painters, and many of their masterpieces have been left behind.

法堂の天井画もその一つ。
法堂の須弥壇には運慶作の釈迦如来像と両脇侍の釈迦三尊像が安置され、仏殿を兼ねている。その天井の画は狩野光信が描いた播龍図。手を叩くと龍が鳴き声をあげたかのような音が反響することから「鳴き龍」と呼ばれ、また、堂内のどの位置から龍を観上げても目が合うという「八方睨み龍」という異名をもっている。
時空を超えたかのような不思議な空間である。臨済宗総本山ならではの荘厳な趣きを感じさせる。

The ceiling painting of the temple is one of them. The statue of Shaka Nyorai by Unkei and the statue of Shaka Nyorai of the samurai on both sides are enshrined on the Sumidan of the temple, which doubles as a Buddhist temple. The picture on the ceiling is a dragon map drawn by Mitsunobu Kano. It is called "Crying Dragon" because when you clap your hands, it echoes as if the dragon screamed, and it is also known as "Happo Gaze Dragon", where you can meet the eyes with dragon from any position in the hall. It is a mysterious space that seems to transcend time and space. You can feel the solemn taste of the Rinzai sect headquarter.

レポート & 写真 / 渡邉雄二　Reported & Photos by Yuji Watanabe