Paper short abstract:

This research aims to examine and compare the images of a rooster in 18th and 19th century Japanese and Thai paintings to identify its implications in the Buddhist context, focusing on Itō Jakuchū’s work Nandina and Rooster, and the Kukkuta Jataka mural painting at Wat Kruewan-waravihara Temple.

Paper long abstract:

Although a rooster or male chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) appears frequently in Asian art and literature, it still holds some ambiguous meanings when discussed in the realm of religion. This research aims to examine and compare the images of the rooster in 18th and 19th century Japanese and Thai paintings to identify its implications in the Buddhist context of both countries. The research focuses on Itō Jakuchū (1716 - 1800)’s work Nandina and Rooster (J. 南天雄鶏図), and the Kukkuta Jataka (Th. กุกกุฏชาดก) mural painting at Wat Kruewan-waravihara Temple (1824 - 1851). I will analyze 1) the representation of the bird (e.g. color symbolism, motif references); 2) the surrounding motifs (e.g. plants, landscape); 3) the mode of painting (e.g. bird-and-flower painting, narrative painting), so as to clarify the Buddhist essence incorporated in the bird. These investigations will explain how the images of the rooster in Indian Buddhism was transmitted and adapted in Japanese and Thai paintings, and more importantly will lead to an understanding of a different approach to the Buddhist teaching for enlightenment in the two countries. The research contributes not only another step in contextualizing the chicken motif in the Buddhist art, but also an evident aspect on the role as well as the relationship between the bird and humans in the early modern Japan and Thailand.