Image Missing: Hearst Museum object titled Textile, accession number 9-833, described as Painting, copy of original, Amida Raigo, “Descent of Amida Buddha,” original in the Reihokan Museum, Mt. Koya, Japan. Another important relic of Amidist art is the large composition preserved the monastery of Mount Koya. Originally executed on Mount Hiei, birthplace of the cult of Amida, it was transferred in 1571 to the center of the Shingon sect to safeguard it during the civil war. At the very heart of the composition appears the great figure of Amida, with gilded body, majestically descending toward us. His robe is also decorated with kirikane, and the gilding of the aureole is like a symbol of the light emanating from the Great Savior. He is accompanied by a stately procession of Bodhisattvas with Kannon presenting the lotus seat for the dead man's soul and Seishi in the pose of an orant; both advance to the foreground, thus forming a triad with the central divinity. Seated in attitudes of devout prayer, the five Bohhisattvas flanking Amida—three of them dressed as monks—are well in keeping with the solemn composure of the god himself. Behind and to either side of the central group, celestial musicians grace the procession and announce the advent of salvation to the believer. The brilliant colors of the Bodhisattvas' costumes and the musical instruments, above all the bright purple and dark blue, contrasting with the gilding of the Buddha, add a felicitous touch to the composition. Now light brown, the clouds must originally have been colored mauve to imitate the "violet clouds" mentioned in the sutras. Thanks to the spirited rendering of the clouds upholding the entire procession, the thirty-three deities form a harmonious whole and infuse a dramatic element into the scene of salvation. The procession passes over a lake, beside a mountain in autumn represented on the lower left; this landscape is not unlike the view of Lake Biwa from the top of Mount Hiei. The artist working in this mountain monastery no doubt took inspiration from the clouds drifting over the lake, tinged with the golden haze and mellowing colors of the setting sun. An old tradition attributed this picture to the monk Genshin (942–1017), who spread the cult of Amida in Japan. But the style and technique, above all the over-sharp outlines in red and the emphasis laid on colors, point rather to a date subsequent to that of the Phoenix Hall paintings (1053), perhaps the early twelfth century.