A collection of gilt panels at The Met depicting non-Buddhist themes was discovered to have adorned the abbot’s residence at Ryōanji Temple in northwest Kyoto in 1606.

This surprising fact shows that the abbot was likely more interested in courtly trends than in Buddhist piety and was perhaps appointed for political reasons: a trend all too common in places where the state is entangled with the monastic Saṅgha. These panels also demonstrate how trends in non-Buddhist art and fashion can come to influence Buddhist temple art proper.