Followers of the Buddhist Priest Nichiren 

When Yasuda Yukihiko was in his mid-teens, not long after he had begun studying painting, he set up Nihonga (modern Japanese-style painting) study group Kojikai with Imamura Shiko, a painter of the same generation. The group’s members would routinely come together to agree on a particular subject, create and exhibit their paintings, and then critique each other’s work. This artistic proving ground no doubt laid the foundation for Yukihiko to establish a reputation as a leading figure in the genre of historical painting.
This work is presumed to have been submitted to the Third Kojikai Exhibition in 1903, the topic of which was the Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren. Nichiren, who founded the Nichiren sect, died of illness in 1282 in Ikegami, Musashi Province (now Ikegami, Ota Ward). At the passing of their mentor, Nichiren’s disciples gather, chanting with deep sorrow in their hearts. The solemnity of the occasion is skillfully expressed in the painting.
(KASHIWAGi Tomoh)