Raigō

"welcoming approach"; Sanskrit: pratyudyāna) in Japanese Buddhism is the appearance of the Amida Buddha on a "purple" cloud (紫雲) at the time of one's death.

[1] The Amida would arrive either accompanied by two bodhisattva, making it a triad depiction, or with a large retinue that also includes musicians playing celestial music accompanying the Buddha.

The Buddha would then lift the spirit of the deceased up and ascend back to the pure land.

As a ritual, such a painting is carried into the house of a person who is near death.

Among the upper classes, raigō paintings and sculpture became very popular, as they depicted the Amida Buddha coming down in celebration in relation to dead relatives or to one's own house.