Sometimes called *eden 絵伝. Pictorial biographies of revered Buddhist priests and patriarchs. Most were produced in handscroll painting *emaki 絵巻 although some are on hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 often with scenes laid out in registers to be read like a handscroll. Great numbers of pictorial biographies of famous holy men were produced during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods and deal with both Chinese / Korean and Japanese sect founders and charismatic preachers. These kōsōden grew out of a tradition of biographies of important religious figures dating at least from 6th century in China. In Japan, such biographies, especially in the Pure Land tradition, were known as ōjōden 往生伝 and described how exemplary priests or lay believers attained enlightenment and so died with equanimity. The illustrated biographies also focus on religious practices, good works, miraculous benefits of faith, attainment of enlightenment and a peaceful death often amid lotus petals and the appearance of a welcoming *Amida 阿弥陀 and his retinue. In these works legendary stories and parables are often interwoven with historic facts, but adhering to the nature of biography, most record actual personages and events and many extant examples are dated. An early work is Kegonshū soshi eden 華厳宗祖師絵伝 (The Pictorial Biographies of the Founders of the Kegon Sect, early 13th century; Kōzanji 高山寺, Kyoto), also known as Gishō Gengyō-e 義湘元暁絵 (The Painting of Gishō and Gengyou / Uisang and Wonhyo) after the names of two central characters who were Korean monks. The pictorial biography of the Chinese monk Jianzhen (Jp: Ganjin 鑑真, 687-763), who voyaged to Japan with great travails to found the Ritsu 律 sect (based at Tōshōdaiji 唐招提寺), is entitled Tōseiden emaki 東征伝絵巻 (Attacking the East) painted by Rengyō 蓮行 in 1298 Tōshōdaiji, Nara. Other examples of non-Japanese protagonists are Jōdo Goso emaki 浄土五祖絵巻 (The Biographies of Five Patriarchs of the Jōdo Sect :1305; Kōmyōji 光明寺, Kanagawa Prefecture); and Genjō Sanzō emaki 玄奘三蔵絵巻 (The Biography of Xuanzhuang [Jp: Genjō 玄奘, 600 / 602-664], early 14th century; Fujita 藤田 Art Museum, Osaka) painted at the court atelier under Takashina Takakane 高階隆兼. The Japanese holy men most frequently depicted were generally founders of the new Buddhist sects with their strong outreach in the Kamakura period. Many versions and copies were produced to answer the needs of itinerant proselytizers or temples seeking believers and support. Small groups would be given an explanation or recital of the biographies as the speaker pointed to the illustrations *etoki 絵解 and emphasized the unique powers of the founder's or sect's message and the benefits of belief and donations. Notable examples are: *Hōnen Shōnin eden 法然上人絵伝 (The Biography of Hōnen, early versions 13th-14th century; Chion'in 知恩院, Kyoto) and *Shinran Shōnin eden 親鸞聖人絵伝 (The Biography of Shinran, early versions 13th-14th century). *Ippen hijiri-e 一遍聖絵 (The Biography of Ippen: painted by priest En'i 円伊 and his atelier, 1299, Kankikōji 歓喜光寺, Kyoto) deserves special mention for its excellent combination of documentary accuracy and pictorial beauty. Another lineage of Ippen illustrated biography began with a handscroll version by his disciple Taa 他阿 (1237-1319) which is called Ippen Shōnin eden 一遍上人絵伝 (two versions with many copies produced in and after the 14th century). Another important work is the handscroll pair *Yūzū Nenbutsu engi 融通念仏縁起 which describes the life of Rōnin 良忍 (1073-1132) an early advocate of the spiritual (and mundane) benefits of faithfully calling on and praising *Amida 阿弥陀 by reciting the formulaic prayer Namu Amida Butsu 南無阿弥陀仏. The 1314 original scrolls are no longer extant, but an early 14th-century copy is now preserved in Cleveland Museum and Art Institute of Chicago. The term kōsōden-e usually refers to the paintings of famous priests made after 12th century in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. However, there are some works which may be classified as such which date from the earlier Heian period. For example, Shōtoku Taishi eden 聖徳太子絵伝 (The Pictorial Biography of Prince Shōtoku) in its earliest extant version consists of wall paintings (formerly decorating the Picture Hall of Hōryūji 法隆寺, now in Tokyo National Museum) painted by Hata Chitei 秦致貞 in 1069. Prince Shōtoku, who is regarded as the introducer of Buddhism to Japan, was never a Buddhist priest although in popular belief he is revered as a Buddhist saint. After the 13th century with the growth of the cult of Shōtoku Taishi encouraged by the established Nara sects such as Hossō 法相 and Tendai 天台, many versions and copies of Shōtoku's pictorial biography were made. Another famous Heian illustrated handscroll is Shighisan engi emaki 信貴山縁起絵巻 (The Legends of Mt. Shigi, late 12th century; Chōgosonshiji 朝護孫子寺, Nara). Although classified as a *shaji engi-e 社寺縁起絵, because it depicts miraculous anecdotes from the life of a temple / sect founder or reviver, in this case the priest Myōren 命蓮, it can also be regarded as a type of illustrated historical biography.