SHAKKYO

This print is the Japanese version of the king of beasts dancing among the beauty of flowers he is surrounded by.

SHAKKYO is a Noh Play about finding paradise.

“A priest goes to China to visit famous Buddhist places. as, he is about to cross a stone bridge a child appears. The child tells him that since the land on the other side of the bridge is the Paradise of the deity, Monju Bosatus even a famous priests could only cross this bridge after long and severe religious training. Telling the priest that if he waits by the bridge he will see something wonderful the child disappears and a lion emerges and dances among the peony flowers.”

I took much of this synopsis from: A Guide to No, SHAKKYO, by P.G. O’Neill and from Ms. Rebecca Teele of the International Noh Institute.