Photo/Illutration Former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, right, explains his “fusuma-e” sliding door paintings he donated this past spring to Ryoanji in Kyoto’s Ukyo Ward. Stones from the temple’s famed Zen rock gardens are drawn on the right-hand side of the drawings. Photo taken Aug. 31 (Takumi Okada)

KYOTO--“Fusuma-e” sliding door paintings of clouds and dragons drawn by former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa that he donated to Ryoanji temple here are now open to the public for limited viewing.

Covering 40 sliding doors, the epic “Unryuzu” work features powerful brush strokes to depict nine dragons and the lifespan of the mythical creatures.

The World Heritage site renowned for having one of the finest Zen rock gardens in Japan was built in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto, a high-ranking official of the Muromachi Shogunate.

The Hojo main hall, which is a state-designated important cultural property, was initially decorated with original fusuma-e drawings.

But the temple sold the artworks after it fell into a state of disrepair following the “haibutsu kishaku” movement to expel Buddhism from Japan following the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

When Hosokawa, 85, visited the temple in 2013 and saw the paintings in poor condition, he offered to donate new drawings.

He donated 32 paintings in 2022, which marked the 550th anniversary of Katsumoto’s death, and the remaining eight pieces this past spring.

It is the first time for all 40 paintings to be open to the public, temple officials said.

According to Hosokawa, he started working on the project in earnest in June 2019 and spent about three years to complete the project.

He has also donated fusuma-e works to Kenninji temple in Kyoto and Yakushiji temple in Nara.

Hosokawa went to Beijing in November 2019 to study dragon paintings by Chen Rong, a Chinese painter from the Southern Song dynasty, and also visited temples in Kyoto and Shiga prefectures to deepen his knowledge.

Asked why he decided to depict the life of a dragon, Hosokawa said, “I thought it would be the most interesting story to tell because I don’t know any other pictures that portray the life of a dragon.”

He added stones from Ryoanji’s rock gardens to the drawing of the ninth dragon.

“They are paintings of a grand scale and look so spectacular,” said Yuko Matsuyama, the temple's chief priest. “Next year is the year of dragon. We’re grateful to have these paintings donated with such good timing.”

All 40 paintings are available for public viewing until Oct. 31, while 32 will be shown from Nov. 1.

Hosokawa, who is descended from a samurai family, held office from 1993 to 1994. He took up painting and pottery after he left politics.

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