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REALISM AND SPIRITUALITY IN THE SCULPTURE OF JAPAN
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Edited by Ive Covaci
Asia Society Museum
in association with
Yale University Press, New Haven and London
CONTENTS
Published with assistance from <to come, if applicable>
Published on the occasion of the exhibition “Kamakura: Realism
and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan,” organized by Asia Society
Museum.
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Asia Society Museum, New York
ISBN 978-0-300-21577-9
<exhibition dates>
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
© Asia Society, New York, NY, 2016.
The paper in this book meets the requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or
in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying
permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law
and except by reviewers for the public press), without written
permission from the publishers.
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President’s Foreword | Josette Sheeran
Museum Preface | Author
Curator’s Acknowledgments | Ive Covaci
Funders of the Exhibition
Lenders to the Exhibition
Note to the Reader
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ENLIVENED IMAGES: BUDDHIST SCULPTURE OF THE KAMAKURA PERIOD Ive Covaci
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A SHORT HISTORY OF THE KEI SCHOOL Samuel C. Morse
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SOFTENING THEIR LIGHT, MINGLING WITH THE DUST: JAPANESE GODS IN BUDDHIST ART Hank Glassman
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THE TRANSFER OF DIVINE POWER: REPLICAS OF MIRACULOUS BUDDHIST STATUES Nedachi Kensuke
00
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CATALOGUE Ive Covaci and D. Max Moerman
FORM AND PRESENCE RITUAL AND DEVOTIONAL CONTEXTS EMPOWERING INTERIORS Map
Timeline of Selected Artistic, Historical, and Religious Events of the Kamakura Period
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Contributors
Index
Photography Credits
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FUNDERS OF THE EXHIBITION
LENDERS TO THE EXHIBITION
NOTE TO THE READER
Major support for “Kamakura: Realism and
Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan” comes
from TKTK.
Asia Society, New York
British Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Larry Ellison Collection
Harvard Art Museums
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum Rietberg Zürich
New York Public Library
Odawara Art Foundation
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Seattle Art Museum
Tokyo National Museum
John C. Weber
Yale University Art Gallery
For Japanese names, the surname is cited first, followed
by the given or the artist’s name. This does not apply,
however, to those who publish in the West and/or who
have opted to use the western order of their names.
In discussion, Japanese artists and historical figures are
referred to in the form most commonly cited, usually by
the given or art name. Shunjobo Chogen, for example,
is known as Chogen.
Japanese is rendered in the modified Hepburn
Romanization system. The macron is used to indicate
a long vowel in Japanese (Fudo Myoo), except where
the Japanese name or term has entered the English
lexicon (shogun). Names and terms are provided in the
Japanese kanji system in the glossary.
In the text, Sanskrit names and words are transcribed without diacritical marks. Diacritical marks appear
in the Sanskrit version of terms cited in the glossary
for the reader’s reference.
Additional support is provided by Toshiba
International Foundation and the Japan Foundation.
Support for Asia Society Museum is provided by
Asia Society Contemporary Art Council, Asia Society
Friends of Asian Arts, Arthur Ross Foundation,
Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke
Foundation, Sheryl and Charles R. Kaye Endowment
for Contemporary Art Exhibitions, Hazen Polsky
Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts,
and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Japanese Historical Periods
Asuka Period
Nara Period
Heian Period
Kamakura Period
Nanbokucho Period
Muromachi Period
Momoyama Period
Edo Period
Meiji Restoration
538 –710
710 –794
794 –1185
1185 –1333
1336 –1392
1392 –1573
1573 –1615
1615 –1868
1868 –1912
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vi
vii
ENLIVENED IMAGES
BUDDHIST SCULPTURE OF THE KAMAKURA PERIOD
Ive Covaci
When you think about an object carved from wood
or drawn in a picture as if it were a living being,
then it is a living being.
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—Myoe (1173–1232)
Who would call this a mere wooden image of
a deity? . . . How could it not possess the
majesty of a living body?
—Eison (1201–1290)
Detail of cat. XX
(see page XX)
viii
The vigorous, expressive, and beautiful sculptures of Kamakura-period (1185–1333)
Japan display an uncanny realism. Face to face with the masterworks illustrated in
this catalogue and presented in the associated exhibition we can identify with the
thirteenth-century Japanese monk Eison, who describes an icon he has just dedicated
as possessing the “majesty of a living body.”1 Often described as a sculptural renaissance, works of the Kamakura period possess naturalistic proportions and a sense of
movement, life-like facial expressions with eyes of inlaid crystal that reflect light, and
realistic drapery.2 With many extant signed and dated works, art historians have been
able to trace individual sculptors’ styles and to tell us much about the master artists
and their patrons. At the beginning of this period, sculptors looked back to art of the
Nara period (710–794), which is also characterized by a high degree of naturalism. Technical and stylistic innovations in the twelfth century allowed sculptors to depart from
the more abstracted and idealized sculpture of the Heian period (794–1185) to create
statuary that exudes the immediacy of the deity in more approachable, humanlike form
(see cat. no. 3).
1
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What Eison means by “the majesty of a living body” goes far beyond the idea of
formal, external resemblance to earthly beings. As religious icons, these images were
enlivened by their function as objects of ritual and devotional focus. Whether installed
as the principal icon (honzon) of a temple hall, as the focus of a discrete esoteric ritual,
or as a vehicle for personal devotions, the material image is transformed into an embodiment of divine presence during the act of worship.3 This sense of embodiment is
enhanced by the practice of depositing sacred relics, texts, and even miniature images
within the hollow interior of many sculptures. Such forms of enlivenment have received
a great deal of scholarly attention in the past decade in both Japan and the West, and
this exhibition and catalogue draw extensively on recent work in the fields of Japanese
art history and religious studies.4
This essay intends to outline historical conditions of the Kamakura period and to
introduce the three sections of the exhibition: “Form and Presence” examines stylistic
and technical developments in Kamakura sculpture; “Ritual and Devotional Contexts”
centers on enlivenment through worship; “Empowering Interiors” interprets the practice
of making sacred deposits in statues. The subsequent essays in this volume by leading
scholars of Japanese art and religion explore significant aspects of these topics. Samuel
C. Morse explains the development of the innovative Kei school of sculptors. Hank
Glassman discusses religious pluralism in art combining belief in the native gods (kami)
and the buddhas. Nedachi Kensuke shows how the practice of copying miraculous
images served as a means of transferring sanctity between icons. Although the treatment of icons as enlivened images is by no means limited to the Kamakura period in
2
Ive Covaci
FIGURE 1. Detail from Night
Attack on the Sanjo Palace,
from the Illustrated Scrolls
of the Events of the Heiji Era
(Heiji Monogatari Emaki).
Second half of the 13th
century. Handscroll, ink and
color on paper. Image
H. 16¼ x W. 27511⁄16 in.
(41.3 x 700.3 cm). Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston;
Fenollosa-Weld Collection,
11.4000.
This illustrated handscroll
from the Kamakura period
depicts one of the tumultuous events of the mid-twelfth
century, the Heiji Disturbance
of 1160, when a warrioraristocrat alliance staged a
coup, kidnapping the retired
emperor and emperor and
burning the palace.
Japan, it seems ideal to consider it within the contexts of the stunning objects of devotion and assimilative religious inclinations of this short, turbulent era.
THE KAMAKURA PERIOD IN HISTORY:
DISRUPTION AND INNOVATION
The 150-year span we call the Kamakura period is bracketed by civil wars that severely
disrupted political, social, religious, and artistic institutions. Armed conflicts between
rival warrior clans and aristocratic powerbrokers became increasingly common in the
twelfth century until a large-scale civil war in the 1180s pitted the Kyoto-based Taira warrior clan against the ultimately victorious Minamoto clan from the east (fig. 1). The conflict
caused the burning to the ground of the great ancient temples of Kofukuji and Todaiji in
the old capital of Nara in 1180 by Taira forces. Following this devastation of architecture,
libraries, and artifacts, work began almost immediately on the temples’ rebuilding and
sculptural repopulation under imperial, aristocratic, and warrior patronage—even small
donations solicited from among the broader population. This urgent need to replace old
icons and buildings, in quantity and quality, was a significant factor in stylistic change
during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.
While the last century of the Heian period saw the rise to power of warrior elites
within the existing aristocratic court structure, it was not until 1192 that a warrior chieftain, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147–1199), was given the title “great barbarian-quelling
general” (sei-i-tai-shogun). Yoritomo had established a bona fide military government
Enlivened Images
3
(called a bakufu, “tent government”) based in eastern Japan in the town of Kamakura,
from which the period takes its name. Although Yoritomo’s sons inherited the title of
shogun after his death, real power quickly concentrated in the hands of his in-laws,
the Hojo clan. Members of this family ruled throughout the period as regents for figurehead shoguns, often young princes brought to Kamakura from Kyoto. An important
innovation of the new military government was granting appointments as estate overseers ( jito) and provincial constables (shugo) to loyal vassals and political allies, thus
consolidating the shogunate’s network of fealty throughout the country. It must be
noted, however, that this military government coexisted with, and continued to at least
nominally derive its authority from the imperial court in Kyoto, in what historians call a
dual-polity system.5 Nevertheless, the Jokyu War of 1221, in which the retired emperor
GoToba’s (1180–1239) attempt to overthrow the military government ended in spectacular failure, represented the symbolic solidification of military rule from Kamakura. It
must have been apparent to contemporaries that the warrior ascendancy was not a
temporary upset.
The Kamakura period can be seen as a transitional one—from the old aristocratic
order of the Heian period to a new feudal system that persisted in the Muromachi
(1336–1573) and subsequent periods. While Kyoto’s aristocratic elite continued to
dominate as cultural tastemakers, new sources of patronage and popular developments
in religion also began to have an effect upon artistic and literary production. These
simultaneous forces of conflict, change, and continuity are perhaps what fostered the
innovation and pluralism—of government, of religious practice, of artistic output—that
characterize the Kamakura period.
Contact with Song-dynasty (960–1279) China also had a significant impact on
developments in Kamakura culture. Sustained diplomatic, commercial, religious, and
artistic exchange with the Asian mainland increased in the twelfth century.6 In the
rebuilding of the great temples of Nara in the 1180s and 90s, newly imported Chinese
modes of architecture were employed, and immigrant Chinese craftspeople played
important roles in these projects. Monks went back and forth between Japan and China
with increasing frequency, bringing with them ideas and artifacts. The Japanese monk
Chogen (1121–1206), who had reportedly visited China, spearheaded the fundraising
campaign to rebuild Todaiji, and the grand ceremony for consecrating the temple’s
reconstructed Great Buddha was attended by multiple monks from the continent.7 But
this flourishing cultural exchange was soon impeded by the Mongol Empire’s expansion
across China. After a long struggle, the Southern Song dynasty finally fell in 1279, and
Japan itself experienced an unprecedented threat from abroad with attempted Mongol
invasions in 1274 and 1281. Neither attempt was successful, thanks in part to the fortuitous occurrence of a typhoon that hampered the invading forces and helped the Japanese defenses hold. The victory reinforced the legitimacy of the shogunate and boosted
the claims of the shrines and temples that credited their fervent rituals and prayers with
calling up the storm. Still, the cost associated with maintaining a defensive force, coupled with the lack of war spoils and land to redistribute, ultimately contributed to the
weakening of the Kamakura shogunate.
As for political developments at court, the shogunate’s attempt to control imperial
succession by forcing heirs from two different lines of the imperial family to alternate
had already resulted in the fragmentation of the court into competing factions. In the
1330s, with the help of warrior clans disenchanted with Hojo family rule, Emperor
GoDaigo (reigned 1318–1339) endeavored to overthrow the shogunate and restore
imperial authority by appointing his own son and heir crown prince in defiance of the
alternation system. This restoration was short-lived, however, and GoDaigo fled south to
Yoshino when his former ally, the warrior Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), took Kyoto and
appointed a new emperor. The end of the Kamakura shogunate, the schism in the imperial court, and the establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate in Kyoto initiated a period
of instability that lasted for much of the remaining fourteenth century (the so-called
Nanbokucho jidai, “Period of Southern and Northern Courts”) and to a great extent
endured for the next three hundred years.
BUDDHISM AND PATRONAGE IN THE KAMAKURA PERIOD
Within this era of political change, a great diversity of Buddhist temples and movements
flourished. Mahayana Buddhism—which teaches the existence of universal, timeless
buddhas, holds up the bodhisattva ideal of compassion, and promises the possibility of
salvation for all sentient beings—had first entered Japan in the sixth century via China
and Korea, whereupon it quickly attracted patronage from the court and powerful clans.
During the Nara period, the religious landscape was dominated by the so-called Six Nara
schools and the great temples Todaiji, supported by the imperial court, and Kofukuji,
sponsored by the Fujiwara family. With the transfer of the capital to Kyoto in the late
eighth century, the Nara schools were largely supplanted by the Tendai and Shingon
schools centered at temples in and near Kyoto. These schools were founded in the early
ninth century upon the return of the monks Saicho (767–822) and Kukai (774–835) from
China, bringing new esoteric teachings and ritual forms they had encountered on the
continent. A mainstay of these new, esoteric temples and their clerics was the performance of large-scale rites for the protection of the state and sovereign, along with privately commissioned rituals for worldly benefits, such as healing illnesses, conception
and safe birth of heirs, political advancement, and defeat of one’s enemies. In the Kamakura period, as in the preceding centuries, Buddhism serving the court was dominated
by these Tendai and Shingon-affiliated temples around the capital. The Kyoto-based
sculpture workshops that filled their demand for images likewise continued to receive
patronage from the imperial and aristocratic families. The emerging elite warrior class,
including the shogunal household and high-ranking vassals around the country, also
patronized esoteric institutions, perhaps in an attempt to harness the legitimacy of
established institutions for their own purposes.
The Kamakura period also ushered in a revival of the old schools of Buddhism centered in the old capital of Nara, undoubtedly aided by the flurry of rebuilding temples
after the destruction of the 1180s. These Nara schools traditionally emphasized the
monastic rules, or vinaya, and the academic study of Buddhist doctrine and textual
traditions. In this period, however, innovative Nara-based monks such as Jokei (1155–
1213) and Eison (1201–1290) stressed devotion to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni
and brought about a concomitant increase in the worship of relics, considered the corporeal remains of the Buddha. These beliefs and practices relate closely to the idea of
enlivened images because many of these monks were concerned with establishing an
immediate connection to the historical Buddha in their time.
Along with continuity and revival, a number of new movements developed and
found popular appeal in the late Heian and Kamakura periods. Often founded by char-
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4
Ive Covaci
Enlivened Images
5
ismatic monks departing from established institutions, such as Honen (1133–1212) and
Shinran (1173–1263) who emerged from the Tendai center of Mount Hiei, these movements are characterized by their focus on single deities or texts, accessible paths to salvation, and broad appeal to the masses. Although sculpted and painted icons had
important purposes in many of these movements, they generally required fewer and less
elaborate images for worship than the traditional Buddhist sects, and thus afforded
more opportunities for people of all social classes to participate. Many of the movements were focused on the worship of Amida, the Buddha who descends to welcome
the soul of the faithful on his or her deathbed for rebirth in paradise. The immediacy of
the idea of meeting with the Buddha at the moment of death relates closely to the sense
of presence and action in “this world” that characterizes imagery of this period.
It was also during the Kamakura period that the Zen school of Buddhism, newly
imported from China, began to gain prominence and patronage. While Zen found adherents among various social classes, in eastern Japan the shoguns, their regents, and elite
warriors served as major patrons. It is often said that Zen particularly appealed to the
military class because of its emphasis on discipline and direct access to enlightenment,
rather than on elaborate ritual and imagery. The strong tradition of realistic portraiture of
Zen masters that flourished in these institutions must be kept in mind when assessing
realism in Kamakura sculpture in general. A portrait sculpture of the Zen master Hotto
Kokushi (1207–1298) is a rare example in western collections (fig. 2).8 As various scholars have demonstrated, the treatment of statues as enlivened presences was no less
pronounced in the Zen setting.9
Rather than stressing sectarian divisions between “old” and “new” Buddhism, or
establishment and popular Buddhism, recent scholarship on Kamakura religion emphasizes the pluralistic character of the period. More than representing a broader sect or
school, clerics saw themselves as following in a specific temple’s lineage, and it became
increasingly common for monks to combine thoughts and practices from multiple traditions.10 Beliefs in the native gods (kami ) also played a key role in the Kamakura religious
landscape, especially in Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, wherein the native gods were seen
as manifestations of Buddhist deities (honji-suijaku). See Hank Glassman’s essay in this
volume for further discussion of this topic and its repercussions in sculpture. The diversity of imagery in this exhibition is a testament to the dimensions of this pluralism.
FIGURE 2. Portrait of the
Zen Master Hotto Kokushi.
Kamakura period, c. 1286.
Wood with hemp cloth,
black lacquer and iron
clamps. Overall H. 36 in.
(91.4 cm). Cleveland
Museum of Art; Leonard C.
Hannah fund, 1970.67.
This portrait of the Zen
monk, Shinchi Kakushin
(1203–1298), was likely
created around the time
of his death. Three other
sculptural portraits of the
monk are known in Japan,
one of which contained a
number of interior deposits.
Owing to the now missing
surface decoration, the
joined-woodblock construction method is visible in
this work.
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REALISM AND SPIRITUALITY IN THE SCULPTURE OF JAPAN:
THE EXHIBITION
form and presence
The exhibition first considers formal expression, stylistic change, and technical achievements in Kamakura-period sculpture. Included are a number of works signed by their
makers, rare in western collections, and others that can be confidently attributed to
specific sculptors or their immediate workshops. The works demonstrate the tendencies
toward intense realism and expressive movement, on the one hand, and gentle naturalism and worldly sweetness, on the other.11
Although we know the names of many sculptors of the preceding centuries through
documents, it was not until the Kamakura period that sculptors began signing their
works with any regularity, usually on the tenons attaching the feet to the bases or on the
interiors (see cat. no. 9). Masters such as Unkei (d. 1223), Kaikei (active 1183–1236; see
6
Ive Covaci
Ive Covaci
7
FIGURE 3. Head of a
Guardian King. Kamakura
period, 13th century.
Polychromed Japanese
cypress (hinoki) with lacquer
on cloth, inlaid crystal eyes,
and filigree metal crown.
H. 221⁄16 x W. 10¼ x
D. 1315⁄16 in. (56 x 26 x
35.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum
of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs.
Alastair B. Martin, the
Guennol Collection, 86.21
(cat. no. 1).
This large head, once
owned by Kofukuji Temple
in Nara, exemplifies the
expressive realism of
Kamakura sculpture. The
inset eyes are made of rock
crystal and painted on the
reverse for a life-like
appearance.
cat. nos. 2, 3, and 4), and Zen’en (1197–1258; see cat nos. 7 and 8) were awarded
successive honorary ecclesiastical titles; the inclusion of these titles in documents and
inscriptions can help to date Kamakura works with precision.12 Sculpture workshops
were often family-based, with sons succeeding their fathers in the position of workshop
head. The essay by Samuel C. Morse in this volume discusses the importance of lineage
and the development of the Kei school (as the descendants of the sculptor Kokei [active
1152–1196], including Unkei and Kaikei, came to be known) in Kamakura sculpture. As
Morse explains, a growing sense of individual artistic identity in the period is an important reason for the increase in signed works. Another factor contributing to this practice
is that sculptors were also followers of Buddhism, and the inscriptions perhaps served a
devotional—in addition to a documentary—purpose. A person could gain much merit
from creating an image of the Buddha, and the artist’s signature on the work established
a permanent, tangible bond with the deity, to be discussed below.
In terms of stylistic influences on the naturalism of Kamakura sculpture, two factors
loom large: sculptors looking backward in time and looking outward in geography.
Within Japan, sculptors active in the Nara region were employed to replace and restore
the statuary for the great temples of Kofukuji and Todaiji. Consequently, they attuned
themselves to Nara-period sculpture displaying a high degree of naturalism, and perhaps sought to emulate this style in re-creating imagery for these temples. (The sculpture of the long intervening Heian period, by contrast, tends to be more idealized,
abstracted, and otherworldly seeming.) Expanded contact with Song-dynasty China also
played a role in stylistic change, as Chinese sculpture of that period displayed increased
realism in form, proportion, and color. Because few artists had the opportunity to travel
to China and limited quantities of Song sculpture were imported, much of the Song
influence upon Japanese sculptors likely came through two-dimensional works of art.
Records indicate that Kaikei made direct reference to Song-dynasty paintings in creating
the Amida triad at Jodoji.13 Characteristics in Kamakura sculpture that point to Song
antecedents are high, elegant topknots, fluttering hems of sleeves and robes, and long
fingernails—all elements that well adapt from two-dimensional to three-dimensional
forms. The early fourteenth-century Monju from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (see
cat. no. 10) exhibits many of these Song traits, showing that they entered the stylistic
vocabulary of Japanese sculptors and remained there after contact with China was interrupted in the late thirteenth century.
Technical developments in sculpture of the late Heian period, deployed on a wide
scale in the Kamakura period, also contributed to the increased realism of these works.
The technique of joined-wood-block construction ( yosegi zukuri ), in which multiple
blocks of wood are carved separately and then assembled together to form a single
statue, allowed for large works that could realistically express dynamic movement. This
process created spacious, hollow interiors of sculptures into which consecrated objects
could be inserted. A third section of the exhibition and the essay by Nedachi Kensuke in
this volume consider this aspect of their devotional potency. The joined-block technique
also allowed multiple craftspeople to work on a single sculpture simultaneously and
produce images quickly in assembly-line fashion. This must have been especially convenient for the large sculptural output needed to replace works lost to fire and war.
One of the most dramatic technical developments in Kamakura-period sculpture
was the use of rock-crystal or glass inserts ( gyokugan) for the eyes of sculptures, as seen
on many works in this exhibition (fig. 3). As Samuel Morse explains in his essay, the
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8
Enlivened Images
9
inserts greatly enhanced the sense of lively presence of these works as the firelight
reflected off the glass eyes in temple interiors.14 The eyes of an image also have a symbolic significance. The ritual for consecrating—and thus activating or enlivening—a Buddhist image is called the “eye opening ceremony” (kaigen kuyo), during which a priest
ceremonially dots in the pupils of the eyes of the sculpture.15 Although ceremonial consecration would be performed for various images, not just sculpture with crystal inserts,
it indicates that the eyes were critical, both formally and ritually, to enlivenment.
ritual and devotional contexts
These sculptures were meant to embody the deity and effect its presence in ritual and
devotional worship. Although many texts contain doctrinal discussions about the relationship between the material, physical icon and the ultimately formless Buddha, Robert
Sharf has remarked that devotees do not distinguish between the deity and its iconic
form, and that even separate images of the same deity are endowed with unique,
individual identities.16 In the ritual arena or in devotional worship, these individual
icons mediate a communion between the divine and the human, whether to bring about
spiritual awakening, to produce worldly benefits ( genze riyaku), or to ensure salvation
in the afterlife.
Images of Daiitoku Myoo (see cat. no. 14) and Fudo Myoo (see cat. no. 15), both
of which represent Wisdom Kings (myoo), are fierce deities in the esoteric Buddhist
pantheon worshipped for their powers to remove obstacles to enlightenment and to
bestow worldly benefits. Esoteric rites begin with the installation of the icon or group of
icons on an altar. The rituals follow a process of purification of the space, making offerings to and welcoming the deity’s presence, chanting of scripture or mantras, manipulation of ritual implements (such as those also displayed in “Ritual and Devotional Contexts”),
and, finally, sending off the deity in a manner analogous to seeing out an esteemed
guest.17 The icon is temporarily “activated” when inhabited by the deity addressed through
ritual. The ritual aims to unite the practitioner and deity, allowing divine insight and
powers to be transferred to the practitioner, and by extension, to patrons of the rite. In
the Kamakura period, temples and sculpture projects associated with esoteric rituals
were sponsored by aristocratic and military patrons alike.
While such rituals could only be conducted by specialists initiated into the teachings and practices, popular worship of deities originally associated with esoteric forms,
such as Nyoirin Kannon (see cat. nos. 16 and 31) and Bato Kannon (see cat. no. 30), also
flourished. Bernard Faure has commented that the intensity of the worshipper’s faith is
equal to the “ritual identification” of the officiating priest.18 Devotees formed “spiritual
bonds,” called kechien, with icons and their associated deities as part of devotional practice, through donations to image-making projects and inclusion of their names on lists or
inscriptions of the dedication vow placed inside or inscribed on images. Devotional cults
focused on individual deities, such as the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (see cat. no. 4),
Prince Shotoku (see cat. no. 38), or the bodhisattva Jizo (see cat. nos. 2, 7, and 34), also
increased in popularity. New forms of icons developed to meet the needs of believers.
The standing Amida (see cat. no. 25), for example, contrasts with seated types prevalent
earlier, and implies an active presence of the deity, moving forward to greet the devotee.
Records describe people on their deathbeds holding cords attached to such images,
establishing a physical connection between worshipper and icon, and by extension
Amida Buddha.19 Such practices can occasionally still be found in temples today.
FIGURE 4. View of main
altar of Tako Yakushido,
Eifukuji Temple, Kyoto.
Photograph courtesy of
Mark Schumacher.
This image shows icons
arranged on the altar of a
temple hall, including
offering stands and adornments. Two icons of Yakushi
Buddha are in the center,
flanked by bodhisattvas, and
the twelve divine generals.
Note the five-colored rope
that extends from the hand
of the rear-center icon up
and over the altar platform
for the worshipper to grasp.
The main icon of worship at
this temple is a hidden
(hibutsu) stone image of the
Buddha Yakushi concealed
in a shrine behind the two
visible icons in front. The
legend about this hidden
statue states that it was a
miraculous replica of another
famous image, and was
found by a monk in 1181
following a dream revelation
in which the original icon
appeared and spoke to the
monk. See Yui Suzuki,
Medicine Master Buddha:
The Iconic Worship of
Yakushi in Heian Japan
(Leiden: Brill, 2011), 127.
Although large and luxuriously produced images could certainly serve the function
of a private devotional image ( jibutsu), most personal icons were smaller in size and
might be contained within a shrine (zushi ), just as a temple hall and altar house a larger
image. The diminutive images in this catalogue and exhibition likely functioned in this
context and give some sense of the breadth of objects of devotion in the period. Nyoirin
Kannon (see cat. no. 31) and Aizen (see cat. no. 32) were popular esoteric icons worshipped for their ability to grant wishes and bestow benefits. Others maintained faith in
Miroku (see cat. no. 33), the Buddha-to-be, who waits in his paradise while the Buddhist
law declines and disappears, only then appearing in this world to precipitate a new
golden age.
Even if enlivened through ritual performance, sculptures usually remained static on
altars or in shrines. On occasion, however, images might be quite literally made to move
through ritual processions or re-enactments. The ceremony of the welcoming descent of
Amida (mukaeko) is performed even today at certain temples, most famously Taimadera
in Nara.20 Historical records indicate that in the Kamakura period, monks wearing masks
and costumes of bodhisattvas would parade to re-enact the welcoming descent. The
sculptor Kaikei produced an over-six-feet-tall, half-nude statue of the Buddha Amida
that would have been clothed and wheeled in a cart through this procession; Kaikei and
other sculptors also produced a set of twenty-seven masks for the same temple.21 A
bodhisattva mask (see cat. no. 27) might have been used in a similar ceremony, and the
dramatic-looking tsuina mask (see cat. no. 28) would have been worn in fire-filled rituals
as part of New Year’s ceremonies to chase away demons and ensure good fortune in the
coming year. As the same workshops that created regular icons also carved such masks,
there are stylistic affinities between masks and full-body sculpture of the period.
Less tangibly, icons were enlivened through legends, stories, visions, and dreams.
The compilations of miracle tales that circulated in the late Heian and Kamakura periods
are replete with stories of devotees whose personal devotional icons, or an icon at a
temple they had traveled as pilgrims to worship, come to life and address the believer.
Even unseen images could be accessed in this way, as these stories and experiences
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10
Ive Covaci
Enlivened Images
11
allowed worshippers to interact with the many secret hidden images (hibutsu) of the
period, which were displayed to devotees only on specific days, if at all (fig. 4).22
empowering interiors
In the Kamakura period, adornment of the unseen interior by means of inscriptions and
deposits was a primary way in which icons were “enlivened.”23 Advances in scientific
techniques for examining the interiors of sculptures, such as X-rays, CAT scans, and
endoscopic cameras, have led to the discovery of inscriptions and contents even when
sculptures are not physically opened (fig. 5).24
A Bodhisattva Jizo (see cat. no. 34) is a rare example in western collections of a
sculpture with intact contents, discovered during conservation treatment.25 Packed into
this small image are miniature statues, scriptures, written incantations (dharani), printed
sheets of thousands of tiny buddhas (inbutsu), and a silk bag with a grain considered to
be a relic of the Buddha. Later in these pages, Nedachi Kensuke explains the logic by
which such images are imbued with a numinous presence.
Although the practice of making deposits inside statues (zonai nonyuhin) was not
new to the Kamakura period, several developments led to a dramatic increase in both
the frequency and number of items deposited within sculptures. One is technical; as
mentioned earlier, the joined-wood-block construction method allowed for larger hollow
spaces within sculptures and thus accommodated many more contents. In some cases,
special shelves or containers were fashioned within images to hold such objects in significant locations—for example, inside the head, in the center of the chest, or in the abdomen. The small sculpture of the infant Shotoku Taishi (see cat. no. 38), while now devoid
of contents, would likely originally have been filled just as other examples of its type.26
Another phenomenon that led to the increase in deposits within sculptures is the
rise of relic worship in the Kamakura period.27 The legend accompanying representations of the infant Shotoku relates that when the prince was two years old, he recited the
name of the Buddha and a relic miraculously appeared within his palms. The sculptures
of this type, widely created in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, depict the
prince with palms held together to imply the presence of this relic. The intent was to
establish a strong parallel between the life of the legendary Japanese prince and the life
of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni.28 The resurgence of devotion to the historical
Buddha, whose corporeal presence in this world is signified by relics, also contributed to
an increase in the practice of packing statues with sacred materials. When relics are
deposited within a statue, the image becomes both a reliquary structure and the very
body of the Buddha.
Other objects included in this section demonstrate devotional activities and the
practice of forming “spiritual bonds” (kechien) with icons and deities, another important
reason for the increase in deposits and inscriptions in sculptures. Commissioning or
simply donating funds toward the production of a Buddha image generates merit for the
patron. Therefore, sculptures were often accompanied by dedicatory texts including the
names of the individuals who participated in the project, and—increasingly in the Kamakura period—long lists of people, living or dead, to whom the donors wanted to extend
the spiritual benefits of the image’s creation. Of course, the physical replication of a
Buddha image or the copying out of a Buddhist scripture generates merit as well, and
the results of such devotional acts could be placed into statues. A sheet of multiple
printed images of Amida (see cat. no. 35) is one of many such sheets recovered from
within a large statue of the same Buddha at the temple Joruriji. These items and lists of
names, like the rituals discussed above, represent another mode of “meeting” of devotee and deity that essentially takes place inside the work itself, where the embodied
presence and its worshippers stand in a kind of permanent interaction.
Some specific Buddha images were considered especially capable of producing
miracles and responding to devotees, and were referred to as “miraculous Buddhas”
(reigenbutsu) or “living Buddhas” (shojinbutsu). Copies of these famous icons, such as the
small bronze Amida triad of the Zenkoji type (see cat. no. 37 and the essay by Nedachi
Kensuke in this volume), flourished in the Kamakura period. The replicas were considered to partake in the essence of the original, itself often an unseen or hidden Buddha
image, and helped spread the cults of specific, local manifestations of deities throughout
the land.29 The prime example of such a living Buddha is perhaps the image of Shakyamuni enshrined at Seiryoji temple (see fig. 1 in Nedachi Kensuke’s essay and his discussion). Legends about this statue relate that it is a replica of, or in some accounts the
original, sandalwood image commissioned by an Indian king to stand in for the Buddha
while he ascended to the heavens to preach to his late mother. Upon the Buddha’s return
to this world, the statue became animated and rose to greet the Buddha, who addressed
the image, saying that it would aid in the spread of the Buddhist teachings after his death.
Through such legends, Japanese devotees traced the existence of “enlivened” images
capable of acting in the world back to the time of the historical Buddha himself.
This catalogue and the accompanying exhibition combine to take us on a journey
from the arresting form of Kamakura-period works, through their function in ritual and
devotional worship, and into their hidden interiors packed with spiritual significance.
Overall, sculptures of this era exude a sense of humanness, brought about through artistic developments resulting in greater naturalism and approachability. Religious developments of the time brought deities into closer proximity to their devotees and encouraged
the “living presence” of icons.30 Long appreciated for their beauty and technical brilliance, Kamakura sculptures must also be understood in this spiritual dimension, a
dimension that encompassed the beliefs and practices of their artists, patrons, clerics,
and devotees alike.
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12
Ive Covaci
notes
1
2
3
4
Epigraphs: The epigraph attributed to Myoe is taken from Robert Morrell’s translation of “Final
Injunctions of the Venerable Myoe of Toga-no-o” (Toga-no-o Myoe Shonin ikun) written in 1235 by
Koshin, Myoe’s hagiographer. See Morrell, Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report, 60. The
quote from Eison comes from a votive document for an icon of Monju. See David Quinter, “Votive
Text for the Construction of the Hannyaji Mañjusri Bodhisattva Statue: A Translation of ‘Hannyaji
Monju Bosatsu Zo Zoryu Ganmon,’ by Eison,” 472.
Mori Hisashi, for example, likens the sculptor Unkei (d. 1223) to Michelangelo, and Kaikei to Raphael.
Mori Hisashi, Sculpture of the Kamakura Period, 108. The last major exhibition on Kamakura sculpture outside of Japan took place at the British Museum in 1991 and was entitled “Kamakura: The
Renaissance of Japanese Sculpture.” See Victor Harris and Ken Matsushima, Kamakura: The Renaissance of Japanese Sculpture 1185–1333.
For a discussion of the terms “icon” and its Japanese parallel honzon, or “principal object of worship,”
see Robert H. Sharf, “On the Allure of Buddhist Relics,” 163–91. See also the concluding chapter in
Donald McCallum, Zenkoji and its Icon: A Study in Medieval Japanese Religious Art, 179–94.
See, for example, the work of Helmut Brinker, Bernard Faure, Hank Glassman, Roger Goepper,
Sarah Horton, Nedachi Kensuke, Samuel C. Morse, Oku Takeo, Robert Sharf, and Pei-Jung Wu listed
in the bibliography to this volume.
Enlivened Images
13
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20
21
22 23 14
For a more in-depth historical overview of the Kamakura period, see the essays by Andrew Goble
and Ethan Segal, in Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850.
Recent scholarship on Heian-period Japan has revised the notion that this period was altogether
insular. While formal diplomatic exchange ended, it is now clear that commercial and religious
exchange continued to occur throughout the period, serving also as channels for informal diplomacy.
See Adolphson, Kamens, and Matsumoto, eds., Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries.
For an in-depth account of this rebuilding and Chogen’s role in it, see John M. Rosenfield, Portraits
of Chogen: The Transformation of Buddhist Art in Early Medieval Japan, 97–127.
Unfortunately, this work is too fragile to be considered for travel to this exhibition.
Scholarship on this issue as it pertains to the Zen context includes Bernard Faure, Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism and Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese Buddhism; Helmut Brinker and Hiroshi Kanazawa, Zen Masters of Meditation in Images and
Writings; and Gregory P. A. Levine, Daitokuji: The Visual Cultures of a Zen Monastery.
William M. Bodiford, “The Medieval Period: Eleventh to Sixteenth Centuries,” in Nanzan Guide to
Japanese Religions, 165. This essay provides a succinct overview of recent scholarship on medieval
Japanese Buddhism.
Recent discussions of sculptural realism in the Kamakura period in English include Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen, and Samuel C. Morse, “Animating the Image: Buddhist Portrait Sculpture of the
Kamakura Period.” Morse argues that the realism of the period is not merely due to technical and
stylistic developments, rather it was a result of a new emphasis on understanding Buddhahood as
originally existing in all beings (hongaku shiso). He writes, “The adoption of a naturalistic mode of
figuration by the sculptors of the Kamakura period was a clearly articulated ideological choice derived
from the conviction that the potential for salvation resided in all phenomena,” 27–29.
These are hokkyo (“bridge of the law”), hogen (“eye of the law”), and hoin (“seal of the law”), the
last being the most exalted.
Yoshiko Kainuma, “Chogen’s Jodoji Amida Triad and its Environment: A Theatrical Effect of the Raigo
Form,” 110.
The earliest extant example of the use of gyokugan is in the Amida Triad at Chogakuji which dates
to 1151 (see fig. 1 in Samuel C. Morse’s essay in this volume).
Conversely, when an icon requires restoration work, monks must first perform a ceremony to remove
the “spirit” so that sculptors can work on the inanimate object. See Fabio Rambelli, “Secret Buddhas
(Hibutsu): The Limits of Buddhist Representation,” 285.
Sharf, “On the Allure of Buddhist Relics,” 172.
For a recent study of esoteric ritual, see Koichi Shinohara, Spells, Images, and Mandalas: Tracing the
Evolution of Esoteric Buddhist Rituals.
Faure, Visions of Power, 258.
On this practice see Sarah Horton, “Mukaeko: Practice for the Deathbed,” 27–44, and Sarah Horton,
Living Buddhist Statues in Early Medieval and Modern Japan, 70–73.
For a description of the contemporary ritual, see Horton, Living Buddhist Statues, 52–53. For a
historical study, see Horton, “Mukaeko: Practice for the Deathbed.”
A comprehensive study of these masks is by Furuhata Noriko, “Hyogo Jodoji bosatsumen no seisakusha to zozo haikei: Kaikei, mukaeko, shojin shinko.” See also Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen,
160–61.
On these, see Rambelli, “Secret Buddhas (Hibutsu),” 271–307.
For recent work on interior deposits, see the following: Helmut Brinker, Secrets of the Sacred:
Empowering Buddhist Images in Clear, in Code, and in Cache; Samuel C. Morse, “Revealing the
Unseen: The Master Sculptor Unkei and the Meaning of Dedicatory Objects in Kamakura-Period
Sculpture”; and Pei-Jung Wu, “Wooden Statues as Living Bodies: Deciphering the Meanings of the
Deposits within Two Mañjusri Images of the Saidaiji Order.”
24 (placeholder note about Shotoku if something is found through examination)
25 Since the discovery of its interior contents in 1983, when the statue was examined for conservation,
it has been the subject of numerous studies in German, Japanese, and English. See the entry for cat.
no. 34. In English, the most recent study is the posthumously published article by Helmut Brinker,
“Anointing with Eyes, Raiment, and Relic: Insights from the Cologne Jizo.”
26 For an analysis of the contents of another image of this type, see John M. Rosenfield, “The Sedgwick
Statue of the Infant Shotoku Taishi.”
27 On relic worship, see Brian D. Ruppert, Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early Medieval Japan.
28 See Kevin Gray Carr, “Pieces of Princes: Personalized Relics in Medieval Japan.”
29 For a study of these replicas, see McCallum, Zenkoji and its Icon.
30 Robert Sharf states, “Japanese Buddhist icons were, more often than not, regarded as living presences. . . . This conclusion is simply inescapable: it is reiterated in historical documents, in liturgical
and ritual materials, in biographies, hagiographies, and mythology, and is fully countenanced by
scripture and commentary.” Robert H. Sharf, “Prolegomenon to the Study of Japanese Buddhist
Icons,” 8.
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Ive Covaci
Enlivened Images
15
SOFTENING THEIR LIGHT,
MINGLING WITH THE DUST
JAPANESE GODS IN BUDDHIST ART
Hank Glassman
Gazing at the images and objects gathered in this catalogue and the exhibition it accompanies, one cannot help but be struck by their immediacy and raw power. While the
modern viewer finds in their beautifully composed surfaces, lines, and shapes breathtaking
technical mastery and aesthetic force, the transcendence of these images is evident even
to the casual observer fully rooted in the modern world of the real. For those who commissioned their creation, the power of these works was of a different order all together.
Imbued as they are with the prayers and magical intentions of their makers and those who
worshipped and treasured them over centuries, they speak to us across the historical
and cultural divide with a profound eloquence. This essay seeks only to amplify and
gloss this speech; translation remains unnecessary in the wordless communion.
It might behoove us to stretch somewhat to imagine the full engagement of the
sensorium: a large wooden hall echoes with the rhythmic chanting of monks; the air fills
with the heady fragrance of incense pressed from sandalwood, agarwood, and camphor;
and numerous oil lamps and candles flicker, set in their heavy iron bases. We can envision the crystal eyes ( gyokugan) of the statues glittering in flashes of candlelight and the
golden gleam of the ritual implements as the monks move them with practiced solemnity and grace. The objects gathered here in the galleries and between the covers of this
book are first and foremost the focus of religious devotion; their great beauty is undeniable and must also be understood as an essential aspect of their efficacy. Yet, these
images and objects were made splendid not only to draw the eye. Far from inert and
passive objects of aesthetic admiration, these are “real presences” (a phrase from Robert
Campany), fashioned with great care and cost for the purpose of bringing about concrete changes both in the worshipper and in the external world. They come to us as
fragments of an integrated and complex system of devotion. Though removed from their
original contexts, many contain clues and indicators to help us imagine more fully their
place in the religious regimes of the day.
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Detail of cat. XX
(see page XX)
16
17
What were the contours and concerns of the religious tradition that produced these
sculptures, paintings, masks, and ritual implements? What do the artifacts reveal about
the spiritual life, worldview, and religious imagination of Kamakura-period Japan?
ECLECTICISM AND COMBINATORY FAITH:
RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN THE KAMAKURA PERIOD
The Kamakura period (1185–1333), as Ive Covaci explains in her introduction to this
volume, was a time of great foment and religious innovation. Political turmoil, natural
disasters, and a millenarian sensibility all spurred on an energetic phase of building and
consolidation. Here, I refer not only to the construction of physical edifices and the solidification of institutional structures; there were also substantial doctrinal, ritual, and artistic advances. During the Heian period (794–1185), Buddhism had come to play a
fundamental role in court culture and in political discourse. Key temples had grown
extremely influential, as had a general Buddhist worldview.
The cosmology of Buddhism, a foreign religion imported to Japan from the mainland in the sixth century CE, had become widespread as a sort of common sense. Ideas
of rebirth through the cycle of samsara and karmic reward and retribution, as well as a
hope of salvation through the intervention of compassionate buddhas and bodhisattvas,
were by now well known to all within the ken of Japanese civilization. Down through
centuries, the creativity and industry of preaching monks, collectors of miracle accounts,
painters, and sculptors wove together various strands from India, China, Korea, and
Japan to create a convincing tapestry of belief.
A very complexly articulated vision of Buddhism, one deeply colored by so-called
Tantric or Esoteric ideas and practices, had arisen among the clerics, patrons, and elite
artisans who created the objects and icons gathered in this exhibition and book. Esoteric
Buddhism (mikkyo in Japanese) is a system or style of religion imported from China to
Japan in the mid-Heian period, not too long after it had come from India to China.1 Esoteric
Buddhism, also called Vajrayana or Mantrayana (Shingon) Buddhism, dazzles the eye
and occupies the mind with a large and varied pantheon of wrathful and peaceful deities,
an array of ritual implements, and dramatic ceremonies. This form of the Mahayana
emphasizes the inherently enlightened nature of all beings and insists upon the full engagement of the senses, rather than a retreat from them. According to this line of thinking,
by filling body, speech, and mind with the sights and sounds of the transcendent buddhas, a person transforms the mind to erase the effects of habitual thinking. Every item
appearing in this exhibition was created with this ultimate intent: to capture the human
mind and propel it in the direction of awakening to its own originally pristine nature.
This era also saw the deepening of an already established system of correspondence between the pantheon of Buddhism and the native Shinto gods, or kami. That is,
as was typical of Buddhism in many cultural contexts, rather than conquer or obliterate
the old gods, the imported religion placed an emphasis on the assimilation of the Japanese gods, or kami, to Buddhist deities. This meant that equivalencies were proposed
between certain buddhas and bodhisattvas, on the one hand, and certain Shinto kami,
on the other. The practice or theory of combining buddhas and kami was termed honji
suijaku (original ground and trace manifestation); this means the kami are viewed as
local manifestations of the Buddhist deities. The Shinto gods, in many cases deified
ancestors of aristocratic families, continued to hold a very important position in the reli-
gious life of people in Japan even as the power and influence of Buddhism rose. In a
common phrase of the time, the buddhas and celestial bodhisattvas “soften their
light and mingle with the dust,” condescending to take form as more approachable kami
and bending to Japanese custom in order to better minister to the people of that land.
Along with this rapprochement between Shinto and Buddhism, the period saw technological and artistic innovations that gave rich visual expression to these theological negotiations and collaborations.
EMPOWERING IMAGES
The most relevant of those innovations for the present exhibition is no doubt the development of new sculptural techniques that allowed carvers to bring to these icons a
striking sense of optical reality. As Sherman E. Lee (1918–2008), an important advisor
to many of the collections represented in this exhibition, put it, “Once images were no
longer confined to single large columns of wood, the sculptor could indulge in more daring
explorations of the volumes, voids, and drapery. Limbs and hands became more active
and expressive.”2 As Covaci points out, the new fitted-wood technique also opened up
interior spaces, where clerics, sculptors, and ritual specialists worked to create a different verisimilitude through tantric magic.3 A wide array of items and inscriptions have
been discovered inside statues of the period: scriptural texts on paper, relics in small
pagodas, votive statements, smaller sculptures, magical Sanskrit spells and syllables
painted on the interior surfaces, even internal organs sewn together of different types of
wadded silk cloth. In his essay for this volume, Samuel C. Morse discusses how the
crystal eyes inset in the statues’ heads are essential to their almost eerie realism. Interior
spaces were often used to illustrate and articulate the connections between the kami
and the buddhas. As carefully wrought and exquisitely finished as the exteriors are—and
of course we can scarcely imagine what they would have looked like colorfully painted
and gilded—it is the doctrinal and mantric manipulations within these invisible interior
spaces that empower the icons.
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18
Hank Glassman
BUDDHAS AND KAMI: ESTABLISHING IDENTITY
The doctrine of honji suijaku held that the buddhas and bodhisattvas manifested
as Japanese gods to facilitate connection. It is one thing to state this as a theory
and another to develop it into a convincing theological tenet. In this task, artistic invention and ritual innovation were essential. As the belief in a combinatory vision of
Buddhism and the local Shinto traditions continued to deepen over the course of the
twelfth century, clerics and the artisans who worked with them became increasingly
interested in representing this relationship between the imported deities and the local in
concrete ways.
Two small statues by Zen’en representing the bodhisattvas Jizo and Monju illustrate
this process especially well (see cat. nos. 7 and 8). These diminutive figures are remarkably well preserved and, within their perfect proportions, these jewel-like pieces have
a fascinating “inside” story to tell us. The Jizo from the Asia Society Museum
Collection (cat. no. 7) and the Monju from the Tokyo National Museum (cat. no. 8),
along with an eleven-headed Kannon image held by the Nara National Museum (fig. 1)
were almost certainly originally from a set of five carved by Zen’en.4 These images were
Softening their Light, Mingling with the Dust
19
created in order to represent the kami of the Kasuga shrine—an ancestral shrine to the
powerful Fujiwara family—in their Buddhist guises. The four old Kasuga gods, and a fifth
young god, or wakamiya, added in the twelfth century, each had a Buddhist alter ego.
The new god, or young lord, is portrayed as Manjusri (Monju bosatsu), here a beautiful
child with the five knots of wisdom for his coiffure. The Jizo image embodies the deity
Amenokoyane, the main Kasuga god and progenitor claimed by the Fujiwara clan.5 The
other two images, now lost, presumably represented Shakyamuni Buddha and Yakushi,
the medicine Buddha, as they would complete the set of five Kasuga “original manifestations,” honji.
These images, created in the early years of the thirteenth century, dedicated and
enlivened with the prayers of clerics and patrons, represent the Buddhist “original
ground” to the “trace manifestations” of the five kami of Kasuga. The interiors of the
three extant statues reveal a great deal about the social and ritual contexts for their creation and dedication. Their inside surfaces are completely covered with prayers and
spells, most remarkably with the Sanskrit seed character, or bija of the deity in question,
written one thousand times. Among the votive prayers and various dharani spells and
mantras, we also find the names of high-ranking monks, nuns, and lay aristocrats listed,
tying them to the karmic benefits generated in the production of the images.
The gods of the Kasuga shrine were a common cultic focus of the monks of Kofukiji,
the temple that formed a single complex with Kasuga. Many paintings of the famous
shrine in Nara represent the landscape of the giant temple-shrine complex and the “original manifestations,” Buddhist honji, of the Kasuga deities floating above Mount
Mikasa (fig. 4).
The style of worship developed at Kofukuji and Todaiji was very influential on the
material and visual culture of the nearby temple Saidaiji in the same city of Nara, the old
capital. As much as the six so-called Southern Capital sects emphasized the sameness of
the kami and the buddhas, and as much as they integrated and developed tantric techniques and motifs into their regimens, liturgies, and repertoires, the schools also nourished a fervent devotion to Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. This faith is evident in the
beautiful Standing Shaka Buddha by Kaikei in the Kimbell Museum and Shaka Nyorai
in the Rietberg Museum (see cat. nos. 4 and 29), as well as in the many related objects
and reliquaries that were also created, specifically those shaped as pagodas—not the
great architectural towers with gabled roofs, which always do house relics, rather various
miniature analogues of the stupa, the grave mound of the Buddha himself.
FIGURE 1. Standing Elevenheaded Kannon by Zen’en.
1221. Collection of Nara
National Museum,
(object no. 803-1).
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PAGODAS, WISHING JEWELS, RELICS, ICONS:
THE SEED OF THE SACRED
Particularly striking among the objects in the exhibition and catalogue are the various
small pagodas: among them, the ones held by the two Bishamonten images as iconographical attributes (see cat. nos. 6 and 39); the dark wooden reliquary (see cat. no. 41);
the one that forms the finial of the gilt-bronze bell (see cat. no. 18); and the reliquary
carved from quartz crystal (see cat. no. 40).6 From the earliest days of Buddhism, back
to the very first records and established sites of worship, the cult of relics has been a
central part of Buddhist practice. The relics are not bone fragments, as often seen in the
Latin West, but are cremated remains that have undergone miraculous transformation
into smooth pearlescent grains of five colors. In Buddhist iconography, relics are often
20
Hank Glassman
21
FIGURE 4. Kasuga Shrine
Mandala. Kamakura period,
late 13th century. Hanging
scroll; ink, color, and gold on
silk. H. 39½ x W. 155⁄8 in.
(100.3 x 39.8 cm). The
Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, credit
and acc number tk.
represented as flaming jewels, and sometimes as treasures piled together, such as on an
unusual vajra in the exhibition (see cat. no. 21). The wishing jewel, or cintamani (nyoi
hoju in Japanese), the same jewel held by Jizo or Nyoirin Kannon, is a magical object,
closely associated with the relics of the Buddha. The pinnacle of the five-tiered reliquary
pagoda just mentioned takes the shape of the mani jewel. Buddha relics placed inside a
statue would be encased in a glass or gemstone sphere that was in turn enshrined within
a pagoda-shaped reliquary, nested within each other like Russian dolls. These reliquaries, invisible once housed in the image, offer us an important reminder. The objects,
beautiful though they are, have a power far beyond their sublime form or attractive
proportions. As with the thousand siddham letters adorning the interior surface of the
Zen’en Jizo, they are the very stuff that brings the icon to life.
notes
1
2
3
For insightful explorations of the doctrinal, cultural, textual, and visual world of Esoteric Buddhism
in ninth-century Japan, see Ryuichi Abe, The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of
Esoteric Buddhist Discourse, 1999; and Cynthea J. Bogel, With a Single Glance: Buddhist Icon and
Early Mikkyo Vision, 2009.
Sherman E. Lee, Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art, 1983, 90.
I borrow the heading for this section from a volume by Helmut Brinker that is a sophisticated and
lucid investigation of the practice of inserting prayers and objects into the bodies of Buddhist statues
in Japan. In Brinker’s phrase, this transforms the statue “from image to icon.” Helmut Brinker, Secrets
of the Sacred: Empowering Buddhist Images in Clear, in Code, and in Cache, 2011. A great deal has
been written on the topic of animating images in a number of different Buddhist cultural contexts.
For another in English, see James Robson, “The Buddhist Image Inside Out: On the Placing of Objects
Inside Statues in East Asia,” in Buddhism Across Asia: Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, vol. 1, edited by Tansen Sen, 2009.
For more on this set of images, see Sherry Dianne Fowler, “Between Six and Thirty-three: Manifestations of Kannon in Japan,” in Kannon, Divine Compassion: Early Buddhist Art from Japan (English
edition of Kannon: Göttliches Mitgefühl, frühe buddhistische Kunst aus Japan), 2007. On Saidaiji’s
Eison and his collaboration with Zen’en, also see Paul Groner, “Icons and Relics in Eison’s Religious
Activities,” in Living Images: Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context, 2001.
On this image and the related “nude” Jizo at Denkoji in Nara, see chapter 2 of Hank Glassman, The
Face of Jizo: Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, 2012.
On the topic of reliquaries and other relic implements, such as the vajras from the collections of John
C. Weber and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in this volume and exhibition, see chapter 8 of John M.
Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen: The Transformation of Buddhist Art in Early Medieval Japan, 2011.
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5
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22
Softening their Light, Mingling with the Dust
23
CATALOGUE
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Ive Covaci and D. Max Moerman
FORM AND PRESENCE
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Plates XX–XX
1
HEAD OF A GUARDIAN KING
Kamakura period, 13th century
Polychromed Japanese cypress (hinoki ) with lacquer on
cloth, inlaid crystal eyes, and filigree metal crown
H. 221⁄16 x W. 10¼ x D. 13 15/16 in. (56 x 26 x 35.5 cm)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin,
the Guennol Collection, 86.21
This over-life-size head with ferocious expression surmounted a large, dynamically posed sculpture of an
armor-clad guardian king trampling a demon. Pairs of such
images could serve as guardians at either side of a temple
gate or as a group of Four Heavenly Kings (Shitenno) they
could occupy the four corners of the central altar of a hall.
Each guardian king is associated with one of the cardinal
directions and serves to protect the Buddhist Law and the
Buddha enshrined within the hall. The Four Heavenly
Kings were invoked in rituals for the protection of the state
in Japan since the Nara period, and enjoyed a resurgence
in popularity with the threat of the Mongol invasions in
the late thirteenth century.
The deep carving and expressive realism of this
head exemplify Kamakura sculptures of fierce deities, and
traces of original brightly painted polychromy remain on
the surface. The head once belonged to Kofukuji, one
of the Nara temples that lay at the center of the revival of
realism in sculpture of the late twelfth and early thirteenth
centuries. The heads of statues were often worked on
separately and then placed onto the body of the sculpture.
As seen here, one of the technical innovations developed
in Nara-area sculpture workshops that allowed for a sense
of life-like presence in Kamakura sculpture was the use of
inset crystal eyes that caught and reflected candlelight in
dark temple interiors. The crystal would be inserted into
the eye opening from within the hollowed-out head, which
in this work is made of two separate pieces, with an
additional piece for the topknot (the filigree crown is a
later replacement). The crystal was painted on the reverse
to show pupils and irises, backed with white paper, and
then held in place with a small wooden panel secured by
wood nails.
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Catalogue
2
KAIKEI (ACTIVE CA. 1183–1223)
STANDING JIZO BOSATSU
Kamakura period, ca. 1202
Lacquered, polychromed, and gilded Japanese
cypress (hinoki ) with cut gold leaf (kirikane) and
inlaid crystal eyes
H. 201⁄8 in. (51.2 cm); pedestal H. 17⁄8 in. (4.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Mary Griggs Burke
Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015,
TR.10.226.2015 (Burke storage number SC 17)
This small image of the bodhisattva Jizo is one of only
three signed works by Kaikei in western collections.1 The
statue can be dated to around 1202 based on the inscription on the interior, “An’Amidabutsu,” a signature that
Kaikei used up until the year 1203 (fig. [interior]). Kaikei
began to use this name while working closely with the
monk Chogen (1121–1206), who similarly called himself
“Namu Amidabutsu Chogen,” and whose followers
often adopted these names as a reference to their faith in
the Buddha Amida of the Western Pure Land.2 Kaikei’s
works signed in this manner gave rise to the designation
“An’Ami mode” characterized by the beautiful, refined,
and somewhat idealized sculpture that Kaikei produced
1
2
3
4
30
in the first decade of the thirteenth century that were
widely imitated by other sculptors in later years. The appeal
of works in this style to the devotee is clearly understandable, especially for images of the Buddha Amida, who
promises rebirth in paradise, or for images of bodhisattvas
such as Jizo, who promises salvation from the torments
of hell and the other undesirable paths of rebirth.
Kaikei is not the only sculptor mentioned in the
inscription. It also includes the names of two of his associates, En’Amidabutsu Shinkai and Ryo’Amidabutsu.3 These
names have also been found on other works by Kaikei,
giving us insight into the organization and division of labor
in sculpture workshops. En’Amidabutsu, who is likely the
same person as Shinkai, seems to have been a specialist in
making inset crystal eyes ( gyokugan) and may have been
responsible for the ones on this image.4 The interior of this
Jizo also contains the written Sanskrit “seed syllables” (bija)
of Jizo, Amida (on the lotus), Dainichi (the cosmic Buddha
at the center of the esoteric Diamond World Mandala),
and the bodhisattva Fugen, reflecting the layering of
identities and associations that such icons represent.
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Miyeko Murase, Bridge of Dreams, 70–73.
On the relationship between Kaikei and Chogen, see John M. Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen.
Murase, Bridge of Dreams, 73.
Samuel C. Morse, “Kaikei-saku Jizo Bosatsu ryuzo / Standing Image of Ksitigarba by Kaikei,” 24.
Catalogue
3
KAIKEI (ACTIVE CA. 1183–1223)
FUDO MYOO
Kamakura period, early 13th century
Lacquered, polychromed, and gilded Japanese
cypress (hinoki ) with cut gold leaf (kirikane) and
inlaid crystal eyes
H. 20¼ in. (51.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Mary Griggs Burke
Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015,
TR.10.227.2015 (Burke storage number Sc 19)
This balanced yet fierce sculpture of Fudo, one of the
Wisdom Kings (Myoo) in esoteric Shingon Buddhism, is
one of very few works in western collections attributed
to the early Kamakura-period master sculptor Kaikei.1 A
temple in Kyoto, the Sanbo’in, holds a very similar image
of Fudo signed by Kaikei and dated to 1203, which helps
date the present unsigned statue to the early thirteenth
century, as well. The folds of the drapery and the sense of
breath-filled three-dimensionality are traits distinctive
of this sculptor’s work.
Worshipped in Japan since the early Heian period, the
traditional iconography of Fudo Myoo dictates his stocky,
child-like body and scowling face. In the Kamakura period,
however, depictions of Fudo were imbued with a new
naturalism and sense of muscularity, evident in the
modeling of the chest and articulation of the waist in this
figure. The expressive but not overly exaggerated face,
with deep furrowed eyebrows and fleshy cheeks, also
brings a greater sense of realism to the work. The crystal
inset eyes ( gyokugan) would have reflected the light of
the fire ritual ( goma) offerings to this deity and he would
have been framed by a flame-shaped halo.2 Fudo is usually
seated on a rock-shaped pedestal befitting his name’s
meaning of “the immovable one.” The sword and the lasso
he holds are later replacements but they represent the
deity’s ability to cut through illusions and to bind the
obstacles to enlightenment, pulling sentient beings onto
the path of salvation.
It has been suggested that this sculpture came from
the Tendai-school temple Shoren’in in Kyoto. In the early
decades of the thirteenth century, Kaikei maintained a
relationship with this temple and several of its aristocratic
abbots.3 Although Kaikei is best known for his work in the
Nara region with the monk Chogen (1121–1206), it should
be remembered that he and other Kei-school sculptors
also produced many works for Kyoto-based aristocracy
and clergy.
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2
3
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Selected publications: Miyeko Murase, Bridge of Dreams, no. 22, 74–76; and Anne Nishimura Morse
and Samuel C. Morse, eds., Object as Insight, no. 36, 94–95.
The eyes are later replacements, but the original would have had inset crystal eyes as well.
Murase, Bridge of Dreams, 76.
Catalogue
4
KAIKEI (ACTIVE CA. 1183–1223)
STANDING SHAKA BUDDHA
Kamakura period, ca. 1210
Gold-painted (kindei ) and lacquered wood with
cut gold leaf (kirikane) and crystal
H. 547⁄16 x W. 19¼ x D. 13½ in. (138.2 x 48.9 x 34.3 cm)
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas: AP 1984.01 a,b,c
This radiant statue of Shaka, the historical Buddha, is
inscribed with the name of the sculptor Kaikei on the
left-foot tenon. The inscription reads “Kosho hogen
Kaikei,” in which kosho means “highly skilled craftsman”
and hogen signifies “eye of the Law,” the middle of three
ecclesiastical ranks awarded to sculptors. The signature
helps date the work to around 1210, when Kaikei ascended
to this rank.
As many as thirty-eight works by this master are
extant, allowing art historians to trace the development
of his style.1 This rare image of Shaka (only one other by
Kaikei is known) closely resembles the much more numerous statues of the Buddha Amida created in the “An’ami
mode,” so-called because Kaikei often signed these works
with his religious name An’amidabutsu (cat. no. 2). This
1
2
3
36
style is characterized by naturalistic proportions, simplified
but beautiful rendering of the drapery folds, idealized
and refined expression in the face, and a gentle sense of
movement. Like this work, the statues Kaikei produced
in this style are often small, conforming to the standard
measurement of approximately three feet (sanshaku).
Shaka is fully covered in gold paint (kindei ) with further
application of cut goldleaf patterns on the robe, creating
a highly refined effect.
Revival of faith in the historical Buddha is an important characteristic of Kamakura-period Buddhism, and
images of Shaka took on an increasingly active presence
in new iconographic formulations.2 Whether depicted
standing in the “Welcoming descent of Shaka” (Shaka
raigo), paired with Amida as “dual objects of veneration”
(nison), or worshipped as one of the “original ground”
(honji) of the Kasuga shrine as part of Shinto-Buddhist
syncretism, these new forms of Shaka speak to the
fertile combination of religious traditions in Kamakura
Buddhist art.3
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Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen, 139. See chapter seven of Rosenfield’s volume for a discussion of Kaikei’s oeuvre.
Kaikei created a pair of standing statues of Amida and Shaka for the Kenkoin, a temple of the Pure Land sect.
On these, see Rosenfield, Portraits of Chogen, 149.
In a recent article, Iwata Shigeki links this statue to Kasuga worship because of the Sanskrit characters corresponding
to the honjibutsu (“original trace manifestations”) of Kasuga on the halo, which he considers original to the work;
others have postulated that the halo is a later addition to the statue. The pedestal, on the other hand, is likely not
original to the work. Iwata Shigeki, “Standing Shaka Buddha by Kaikei from the Kimbell Art Museum Collection.”
Catalogue
5
KOKUZO BOSATSU
Kamakura period, late 12th century
Wood with black lacquer, polychrome, and gilding
H. 235⁄16 in. (59.2 cm)
Museum Rietberg Zürich, Donated by Julius Müller, RJP 13
The name of the bodhisattva Kokuzo means “repository
of the void” and symbolizes his unlimited wisdom and
compassion. This form of the deity is associated with
an esoteric rite called the Gumonjiho, or “Morning star
meditation.” Performed since the Nara period, this
wisdom- and memory-increasing ritual involves reciting
the mantra of the bodhisattva one million times, and
was popular among Kamakura-period monks combining
practices from esoteric Shingon Buddhism with other
traditions.1 Although many icons for this ritual survive as
paintings, sculpted icons are lesser known. The size of this
statue conforms to the iconographic prescriptions of the
ritual, and the bodhisattva possibly held a lotus topped
with a flaming jewel in his left hand, to accord with the
wish-granting mudra made by the right hand.
In contrast to the very human-looking devotional
icons elsewhere in this section of the catalogue and
exhibition, the straight-backed body position, spherical
face, geometrically rendered facial features, and severe
pattern in the draperies create a reserved appearance
befitting the esoteric and cosmic nature of this deity. In
these characteristics, this Kokuzo bears some resemblance
to representations of Dainichi, the cosmic Buddha, by the
sculptor Unkei (see fig. X in the essay by Samuel Morse in
this volume). Lacking an inscription or date, the image has
been attributed to the late-twelfth-century Kei school on
the basis of style.2 The well-preserved statue has portions
of the original black lacquer and white paint, and gold foil
on the crown and robes. The towering hairstyle is in the
Chinese Song-dynasty (960–1279) style, and there are
remnants of attached cascading hair on the right shoulder
of the figure. Auspicious Buddhist symbols are painted
with red pigment onto the body of the figure: a swastika
appears on the chest and the palms display the Wheel of
the Law (dharmachakra).
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The ritual is described in Taiko Yamazaki, Shingon, 182–90.
On this work, see Iwata Shigeki, “Suisu Ritoberugu Bijutsukan kizo bosatsu zazo” [The seated wooden bodhisattva
statue in the Rietberg Museum, Switzerland].
Catalogue
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FIGURE XX. Plate 7
interior views
44
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Catalogue
45
8
STANDING MONJU BOSATSU
Kamakura period, 13th century
Japanese cypress (hinoki), inlaid crystal eyes, gilding,
polychrome, and cut gold leaf (kirikane)
H. 171⁄16 in. (43.3 cm)
Tokyo National Museum, C23
Although no inscription has been confirmed on this work,
the small image of the standing bodhisattva Monju can be
attributed to the sculptor Zen’en on the basis of similarity
to the signed Jizo in the Asia Society Museum (cat. no. 7)
and the Eleven-headed Kannon in the Nara National
Museum (see fig. 9 in Hank Glassman’s essay).1 They share
the same type of wood and technique, the same height,
and possess stylistic qualities characteristic of Zen’en,
such as round faces with sweet expressions, and a subtle
sense of movement. All are considered early works by
the sculptor, whose career continued into the 1250s.
This Monju, the Asia Society Museum Jizo, and the
Nara National Museum Kannon are thought to have formed
part of a set of five images representing the “original
ground” deities (honjibutsu) of the Kasuga shrine in Nara,
1
2
46
each associated with one of the native deities (kami)
enshrined there.2 Monju is usually represented seated, but
in this case his standing posture may relate to his grouping
with the other images in the set. Originally, he would have
held a sword or lotus in his right hand and a scroll in his
left; the hands are likely later replacements.
Instead of one central chignon, this Monju has five
topknots, which, along with his youthful appearance,
indicate that the image represents the “young boy” (chigo)
form of Monju. This Chinese-derived iconography was
espoused by the Shingon-ritsu monk Eison (1201–1290),
with whom the sculptor Zen’en had a close relationship,
producing numerous works under his patronage. In the
context of Kasuga worship, however, the youthful appearance of Monju perhaps also relates to his role as the honji
of the Kasuga Wakamiya deity, conceived of as a child
deity. The figure has an immediately attractive and gentle
appearance, and it is not hard to imagine how these
appealing works could inspire devotional sentiments in
their patrons and viewers.
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On this work, see Yamamoto Tsutomu, “Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan hokan Monju Bosatsu ryuzo /
Manjusri (Standing Image).” See also Oku Takeo, “Nara no Kamakura jidai chokoku” [Nara sculpture of
the Kamakura period].
See the essay by Hank Glassman in this volume.
Catalogue
9
KOSHUN (ACTIVE 1315–1328)
THE SHINTO DEITY HACHIMAN IN THE GUISE OF
A BUDDHIST MONK
Kamakura period, dated 1328
Polychromed Japanese cypress (hinoki ) with
inlaid crystal eyes
H. 32 x W. 36¾ x D. 24 in. (81.3 x 93.3 x 61 cm)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Maria Antoinette Evans Fund
and Contributions, 36.413
With its lifelike expression, this sculpture could easily
be mistaken for a portrait of an actual monk. Rather it
represents the native Japanese deity Hachiman appearing
as a Buddhist monk. As the tutelary god of the Minamoto
clan, Hachiman enjoyed great popularity among the
warrior class, and a large shrine to this deity was established in the military capital of Kamakura. In the ShintoBuddhist syncretic tradition, Hachiman had served as a
tutelary god at Todaiji since the Nara period, and was
represented and worshipped as a bodhisattva since
the early ninth century.1 Belief in Hachiman typifies the
pluralism of Japanese religion.
The present work is similar in form and size to a
statue Kaikei created for the Hachiman shrine adjoining
the Todaiji Temple in Nara in 1201.2 Kaikei’s image carries
a staff in his right hand and sits on a lotus pedestal backed
by a halo, attributes that would likely also have accompanied this work. These additions would heighten the
divinity of Hachiman, contrasting with the more human
appearance of the work in its current state.
Shinto images continued to be made with single
wood-block construction into the Kamakura period, but
both this work and Kaikei’s image of Hachiman employ
the joined wood-block method, common to Buddhistand
portrait sculpture since the twelfth century. The head
consists of two pieces, split into front and back. The crystal
eyes with painted irises were inset from within, heightening the figure’s realism (fig. [int – front]). An inscription on
the interior of the head (fig. [int–back]) tells us that the
sculptor was named Koshun and held the rank of hogen
and the office of head of the Kofukuji temple sculpture
workshop in Nara.3
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2
3
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See Christine Guth Kanda, Shinzo: Hachiman Imagery and its Development. For a recent study of the early
Hachiman cult in Japan, see Bernhard Scheid, “Shomu Tenno and the Deity from Kyushu: Hachiman’s Initial
Rise to Prominence.”
On this work, see Christine Guth Kanda, “Kaikei’s Statue of Hachiman in Todaiji.”
The inscription reads in Japanese: “Nanto Kofukuji Daibusshi Hogen Koshun saku.”
Catalogue
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FIGURE XX. Plate 9 interior views
50
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Catalogue
51
10
SEATED MONJU BOSATSU
Kamakura period, early 14th century
Japanese cypress (hinoki ), with inlaid glass eyes
H. 145⁄8 x W. 113⁄8 x D. 8¼ in. (37.1 x 28.9 x 21 cm)
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Katharine Levin
Farrell Fund, the Haney Foundation Fund, the Margaretta S.
Hinchman Fund, the Bloomfield Moore Fund, the John T. Morris
Fund, the Edgar Viguers Seeler Fund, the George W. B. Taylor
Fund, and with funds contributed by Mrs. Rodolphe Meyer
de Schauensee, 1979, 1979-57-1
Monju, the bodhisattva of wisdom, is often depicted
holding a scroll of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Hann­
yakyo) and a sword, which symbolizes wisdom cutting
through illusions.1 The seated figure would have been
placed on a lotus pedestal atop a large figure of a ferocious
lion, Monju’s traditional mount.2 In the Kamakura period,
devotion to this bodhisattva gained widespread popularity,
especially in the Nara region, where the traditional sects
were revived by monks such as Eison (1201–1290), whose
teachings emphasized worship of Monju.3
Clad in a Chinese-style high-waisted “cloud pattern”
jacket with fluttering sleeves, and crowned with a very
high chignon, this figure of Monju clearly shows the
1
2
3
4
5
52
influence of Song-dynasty (960–1279) art on Kamakura
sculpture. Earlier in the period, the sculptor Kaikei incorporated similar garments and stylistic features in his statue
of Monju dated 1203 in the Abe no Monjuin temple, likely
by making reference to imported Song-dynasty (964–1279)
prints and paintings.4 This Chinese style of dress appeared
regularly in Kamakura-period depictions of Monju and can
be contrasted with the Indian-derived draped scarf and
skirt of the Tokyo National Museum Monju (cat. no. 8).
Unlike the many sculptures with traces of pigment and
gilding that suggest their original bright surface decoration,
this Monju was a plain-wood image from the start. The
figure is made of cypress wood, which often stood in for
the prized but rare aromatic sandalwood used for plainwood devotional images in India and China. Through its
legendary association with the creation of the very first
Buddha image, sandalwood evoked ideas of the historical
Buddha Shakyamuni and the birthplace of Buddhism in
India. Although plain-wood sculptures of Monju are rare,
records note that in 1255, Eison commissioned the sculptor
Zen’en to create a joroku (sixteen-foot when standing)
plain-wood statue of Monju for the temple Hannyaji.5
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The attributes here are later replacements.
For an example of a lion mount, see the Lion Dais Reliquary (cat. no. 42) in this volume.
See Pei-Jung Wu, “Wooden Statues as Living Bodies: Deciphering the Meanings of the Deposits within two
Manjusri Images of the Saidaiji Order.”
Christine Guth Kanda, “Kaikei’s Statues of Manjusri and Four Attendants in the Abe No Monjuin.”
On the dedicatory objects placed inside this statue, see Pei-Jung Wu, “Wooden Statues.” On the tradition of plain
wood images, see Christian Boehm, The Concept of Danzo: “Sandalwood” Images in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture.
Catalogue
RITUAL AND DEVOTIONAL CONTEXTS
Plates XX–XX
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54
Catalogue
18a
BUDDHIST CEREMONIAL BELL WITH PAGODA FINIAL
Kamakura period, 13th century
Gilt bronze
H. 75⁄8 x W. 31⁄8 in. (19.4 x 7.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of
Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds,
Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975, 1975.268.170
18b
THREE-FOOTED STAND (KONGOBAN)
FOR BUDDHIST CEREMONIAL OBJECTS
Kamakura period, 13th century
Gilt bronze
H. 1½ x W. 8¼ x D. 11¼ in. (3.8 x 21 x 28.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of
Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds,
Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975, 1975.268.171
The bell is one of the principal implements of Esoteric
Buddhist rites and brings the sensory element of sound
into the ritual arena. It appears as an attribute ( jimotsu)
in the hands of deities such as Aizen Myoo and as a
ceremonial instrument in the hands of celebrants who
ring the bell to summon, venerate, and send off the deity.
Its sound is said to stimulate the mind of enlightenment,
and awaken all beings from the slumber of ignorance.
Symbolizing the female and the Womb World Mandala,
it is the complement of the vajra, “thunderbolt” or
“diamond,” which symbolizes the male and the Diamond
World Mandala. The handle of this bell, like the handle
of the five-pronged vajra also in the exhibition, is deco-
rated with demon eyes with groupings of bound lotus
petals on either side. The handle ends in a Five Element
stupa ( gorinto) in which the cube, sphere, pyramid,
hemisphere, and jewel represent the elements of earth,
water, fire, wind, and space, respectively. The stupa bell
(torei ) is one of five types of bell used in Esoteric Buddhist
rituals. The handles of the others end in a single-pronged
vajra, a three-pronged vajra, a five-pronged vajra, and a
wish-fulfilling jewel. The three-footed ritual tray (kong­
oban) on which the bell stands is of an irregular quatrefoil
shape representing four stylized lotus leaves. Ritual trays,
like the bells and vajra they support, are based on the
examples that Japanese monks brought back from China.
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Catalogue
19
VAJRA
Kamakura period, 13th century
Gilt bronze
Dims tk
John C. Weber Collection: JS 016
20
TRAY
Kamakura period, 13th century
Gilt bronze
Dims tk
John C. Weber Collection: JS 013
This magnificent gilt-bronze vajra has four demon eyes
and bound-lotus-petal designs on a dramatically flared
handle. Rather than the prongs more commonly found on
such ritual implements, this vajra terminates in four-fold
clusters of wish-fulfilling jewels framed by finely rendered
openwork flames. Groupings of wish-fulfilling jewels
surrounded by aureoles of flame are common iconographic
elements in Kamakura-period Buddhist art. Vajra with this
form are known as hojusho but similar clusters of flaming
jewels are also found on reliquaries, as relics, wish-fulfilling
jewels, and the imperial regalia were homologized in
this period. The cluster of jewels signifies abundance and
fecundity, and the flames convey the power to consume
the passions and burn off desire. The grouping of triple
gems also stands for the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the
Buddha, his teachings, and his community. Flaming
aureoles surround images of fierce deities such as Fudo
Myoo, Aizen Myoo, and Daiitoku Myoo. The jewel, which
grants all wishes, satisfies all desires, and is among the
seven treasures of a universal king, is held in the hands of
benevolent deities such as Jizo and Nyoirin Kannon. The
three-footed tray in the quatrefoil shape representing lotus
petals would have been placed immediately in front of
the practitioner’s dais facing the icon.
MM
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24
ZAO GONGEN
Kamakura period, 13th century
Iron
H. 12½ x W. 6½ x D. 3¾ in. (31.8 x 16.5 x 9.5 cm)
In antiquity when En no Gyoja was practicing austerities
John C. Weber Collection, JS04
to convert the people of this country.” Then the form of
on Mount Yoshino and the form of Shakyamuni appeared
before him, the ascetic said, “In this form it will be difficult
Maitreya appeared before him, but En said: “This likewise
Zao is the fierce manifestation (gongen) of the Buddha
and the local deity of Mount Kinpu in the Yoshino range,
the birthplace of the Japanese Buddhist tradition of
mountain asceticism called Shugendo.1 His threatening
pose, bristling hair, fangs, three-pronged vajra crown, and
arm positions—one raised hand holding a vajra and the
other at his waist in the mudra of wrath—are aspects
similar to the terrifying forms of Wisdom Kings (myoo).
Yet, Zao is a Japanese creation that does not conform to
any single Indian prototype. According to a Kamakuraperiod account, when the Buddha first appeared to
En no Gyoja, the legendary seventh-century founder of
Shugendo, the ascetic found the terrifying form of Zao
more appropriate than the gentle form of either the
Buddha of the Past or the Buddha of the Future for the
Japanese people:
1
2
60
will not do.” However, when the Buddha manifested the
fearsome shape of Zao Gongen, En responded, “Truly, this
is one who can convert our land to Buddhism.” And today
the Buddha manifests this Trace.2
This rare cast-iron statue is of a size and material
appropriate as a private devotional icon for an ascetic who
traveled and practiced in rugged mountain terrain. Inscribed
on the back of the rock pedestal are the characters for
“Ishizuchi Betsuin,” a branch temple on Mount Ishizuchi,
identifying the icon with a sacred mountain on the island
of Shikoku that has long been a Shugendo center. With its
substantial materiality and dynamism, the statue expresses
a remarkable balance between weight and weightlessness.
Copyright @Yale University Press 2015 For marketing purposes only
See Suzuki Shoei, “The Development of Suijaku Stories about Zao Gongen.”
Robert E. Morell, trans., Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu), 80–81.
Catalogue
MM
EMPOWERING INTERIORS
Copyright @Yale University Press 2015 For marketing purposes only
Plates XX–XX
TIMELINE OF SELECTED ARTISTIC, HISTORICAL, AND
RELIGIOUS EVENTS OF THE KAMAKURA PERIOD
artistic events
historical and religious events
1155 Emperor GoShirakawa ascends to the throne.
1156 The Hogen Rebellion, an armed conflict resulting
from an imperial succession dispute over Emperor
GoShirakawa’s right to rule, ends the Fujiwara
clan’s dominance and intensifies the rivalry
between the Minamoto and Taira warrior clans.
1176 The sculptor Unkei makes the statue of
Dainichi for the temple Enjoji in Nara, his earliest
extant work.
1195 Kaikei makes the Amida Triad at Jodoji temple for
patron Shunjobo Chogen.
Copyright @Yale University Press 2015 For marketing purposes only
1203 Sculptor Unkei is given the honorary title hoin, the
highest rank for artists. Kaikei is awarded the
hokkyo rank.
1185 Dedicatory eye-opening ceremony (kaigen
kuyo) is held for the reconstructed Great
Buddha of Todaiji.
1210 Sculptor Kaikei’s first known work signed with the
rank of hogen is created, indicating he received
this second of the three ranks between 1208 and
1210.
64
1185 Taira forces are defeated by the Minamoto
warriors, led by Minamoto Yoshitsune, at the
naval battle of Dan-no-ura. The six-year-old
Emperor Antoku and most remaining Taira forces
perish or commit suicide. This event marks the
beginning of the Kamakura period.
1202 Yoritomo’s eldest son, Minamoto Yoriie, is
appointed shogun.
1203 Dedication of the Guardian Figures for the Great
South Gate of Todaiji takes place, carved by
Kaikei, Unkei, and their workshops.
1203 Yoritomo’s second son, Minamoto Sanetomo, is
appointed shogun, after his elder brother Yoriie is
deemed unfit to rule by the Hojo clan, the family
that wields absolute power at the bakufu as
regents to shoguns.
1180 Taira Shigehira’s troops attack Nara, setting a fire
that spreads and burns Todaiji, Kokfukuji, and
other temples.
1181 The monk Shunjobo Chogen is appointed Chief
Fundraiser (Daikanjin) for Todaiji’s reconstruction.
1199 Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo dies.
1200 The Zen monk Eisai founds the temple Jufukuji in
Kamakura at the request of Hojo Masako as the
memorial temple to her husband, Minamoto
Yoritomo.
1180 The Genpei War begins when Taira Kiyomori
puts his three-year-old grandson Antoku on the
throne. GoShirakawa’s son, in alliance with
Minamoto Yoritomo, issues a call to arms against
the Taira clan.
1181 Sculptors including Myoen, Inson, Seicho, and
Kokei begin work on replacing images for
Kofukuji’s halls.
1192 Minamoto Yoritomo is appointed shogun (sei-i-taishogun) and the Kamakura bakufu is officially
established.
1195 Dedication of the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji
takes place and is attended by Emperor GoToba
and shogun Minamoto Yoritomo.
1158 Emperor GoShirakawa abdicates, but continues to
exercise power as a retired emperor.
1159 The Heiji Rebellion takes place. Taira forces are
victorious, most Minamoto leaders are executed,
and the young Minamoto Yoritomo is exiled to
eastern Japan.
historical and religious events
1186 Sculptors Seicho and Unkei create works for
Minamoto Yoritomo and other warrior patrons in
their seat of government in the town of Kamakura
in eastern Japan.
1189 First extant dated work by the sculptor Kaikei
is created (Miroku in the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston).
1151 The Amida Triad at Chogakuji south of Nara is
completed by an unknown sculptor. First extant
use of crystal inset eyes ( gyokugan).
1152 First documented work (not extant) by
the sculptor Kokei, who establishes the
Kei-school atelier.
artistic events
1218 Sculptor Kaikei repairs the Seiryoji Shaka, a statue
renowned as a miraculous Buddha.
1221 Sculptor Zen’en creates the Eleven-headed
Kannon, now in the Nara National Museum.
1207 The exclusive practice of the nenbutsu, the
recitation of the name of Amida Buddha as a
means to salvation, is banned. Its propagators, the
monks Honen and Shinran, are exiled.
1212 The monk Honen, founder of Pure Land
Buddhism, dies.
1219 Shogun Minamoto Sanetomo is assassinated.
1221 The Jokyu Rebellion takes place. Retired Emperor
GoToba attempts to overthrow the Kamakura
bakufu and Hojo rule, but is unsuccessful.
65
artistic events
historical and religious events
artistic events
1315 Sculptor Koshun’s first documented work,
a Jizo Bosatsu (Hokoin, Nara), is created.
1223 Sculptor Unkei dies.
1224 Sculptor Higo Busshi Jokei makes the Six Kannon
statues for Daihoonji.
1232 The formal legal code for the Kamakura bakufu
(Goseibai shikimoku) is promulgated. It codifies
rules on land rights inheritances and establishes
the basic penal system for warrior families.
1247 Shogunal regent Hojo Tokiyori receives and
listens to the preaching of the Zen priest Dogen in
Kamakura.
1249 The Rengeoin temple in Kyoto burns down,
destroying most of the one thousand Kannon
statues within.
1249 Sculptor Zen’en changes his name to Zenkei
between 1247 and 1249.
1257 Sculptor Zenkei (Zen’en) and his son Zenshun
create the Monju riding a lion for the Hannyaji
temple in Nara (not extant).
Copyright @Yale University Press 2015 For marketing purposes only
1258 Zenkei (Zen’en) dies.
1266 The Sanjusangendo of Rengeoin is rededicated.
The main Thousand-armed Kannon is by Tankei,
and he and other sculptors make replacements for
the 876 Kannon statues destroyed by fire
in 1249.
1280 Sculptor Zenshun creates a portrait statue of the
monk Eison (Saidaiji, Nara).
1318 Emperor GoDaigo ascends to the throne at the
age of thirty.
1324 The Shochu Incident, Emperor GoDaigo’s first
attempt to overthrow the Kamakura bakufu,
is unsuccessful.
1227 Sculptor Tankei is appointed head of the Todaiji
atelier (Todaiji Daibusshi).
1247 Sculptor Zen’en creates a statue of Aizen Myoo
for the monk Eison at the Saidaiji temple.
historical and religious events
1262 The monk Shinran, founder of the New Pure Land
sect (Jodo Shinshu), dies.
1274 The first attempted Mongol invasion of Japan
takes place.
1331 Emperor GoDaigo again attempts to overthrow
the bakfuku, beginning the Genko War of 1331–
1333. He is defeated and exiled to the island of
Oki. The bakufu installs Emperor Kogon.
1333 GoDaigo escapes from exile and Ashikaga Takauji,
military commander of the bakufu forces, defects
to GoDaigo’s side. Warriors led by Nitta Yoshisada
attack and burn Kamakura, and the bakufu falls.
GoDaigo assumes the throne, deposing Emperor
Kogon.
1336 Ashikaga Takauji rebels against Emperor GoDaigo,
defeating Nitta Yoshisada’s force. He takes Kyoto
and places Emperor Komyo on the throne.
GoDaigo flees south to Yoshino and establishes
the Southern Court, beginning the Nanbokucho
period (period of Southern and Northern courts.)
1338 Ashikaga Takauji is appointed shogun, beginning
the Muromachi bakufu.
1392 The Southern and Northern courts are unified
under one emperor, GoKomatsu, marking the start
of the Muromachi period.
1281 Mongol forces once again attempt to invade
Japan, but Japanese warriors are able to
repel them.
1282 The Zen temple of Engakuji is dedicated
in Kamakura.
1290 The Shingon-ritsu monk Eison dies.
For a more extensive chronology of dated extant and documented
Kamakura period sculptures in Japanese, see Yamamoto Tsutomu,
ed., Nihon Bi utsu Zenshu, vol. 7, Kamakura Nanbokucho Jidai 1:
Unkei Kaikei to Chusei Jiin (Japan: Shogakkan, 2013), 274–79.
66
Timeline
Timeline
67
GLOSSARY
Abe no Monjuin 阿倍の文殊院. A Kegon-school temple in Nara, it
houses a large pentad created by Kaikei of Monju riding a
lion surrounded by four attendants.
agyo 阿形. This refers to the open-mouthed figure of a pair of gate
guardians or lion-dogs. As the first letter of the Sanskrit
alphabet, “A” is pronounced with an open mouth, and
represents the beginning of all things; the opposite, closedmouthed figure is ungyo and represents the end of all things.
Aizen Myoo 愛染明王. “The Wisdom King of love,” so-called
because he loves sentient beings and helps them to enlightenment. He is the center of a ritual to avoid calamities and gain
fortune, and he has a fierce expression, three faces, and six
arms. In some rituals he is also invoked as “king of lust.”
Amida Butsu 阿弥陀仏 (Sanskrit, Amitabha). The Buddha of infinite
light, and the lord of the Western Pure Land. The scriptures
about this Buddha teach that one can achieve rebirth in the
Pure Land by reciting the name of Amida (nenbutsu) with a
sincere heart, and that he will descend to greet the devotee
upon his or her death (raigo). Devotion to Amida was
popular among the aristocracy in the Heian period, and
popular movements advocating the exclusive practice of the
nenbutsu spread widely in the Kamakura period.
Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 (Sanskrit, Amitabha Tathagata). The
Buddha of infinite light; see Amida Butsu.
An’Ami mode (Japanese, An’ami yo 安阿弥様). A style of sculpture
initiated by Kaikei, who signed works in this style with the
name An’Amidabutsu. Characterized by a combination of
Kei-school naturalism and gentle idealization. Widely imitated
in later years, especially in devotional images of the
Buddha Amida.
An’Amidabutsu 安阿弥陀仏. A devotional name given to Kaikei
by Shunjobo Chogen, frequently appearing as the artist’s
signature on works from the late twelfth and early thirteenth
centuries. It references his faith in the Buddha Amida of the
Western Pure Land.
Ashikaga clan 足利家. Warrior family that rose to power during
the Kamakura period as a branch of the Minamoto clan,
but subsequently grew dissatisfied with Hojo-clan rule and
helped overthrow the Kamakura bakufu, establishing the
Muromachi bakufu in Kyoto in 1338.
Ashikaga Takauji 足利尊氏 (1305–1358). Head of the Ashikaga
warrior clan and founder of the Ashikaga bakufu. Takauji was
a general for the Hojo troops in the 1330s before defecting to
the side of Emperor GoDaigo to aid in establishing the
Kenmu Restoration of 1333–36. Order broke down again,
and Takauji and his troops seized Kyoto, establishing the
Ashikaga bakufu in 1338 and appointing a new emperor.
68
Azuma kagami 吾妻鑑. Mirror of the East, an important early
fourteenth-century quasi-historical chronicle of Minamoto
Yoritomo’s reign as shogun and the early Kamakura
period in general.
bakufu 幕府. “Tent government” or “garrison government.” A term
for the military government of Japan, with the shogun as its
head. Minamoto Yoritomo established the first bakufu in
Kamakura in 1192, which at first ruled as a so-called “dual
polity” with the court. The term is also used for the government of shoguns in subsequent periods.
Bato Kannon 馬頭観音 (Sanskrit, Hayagriva). “Horse-headed
Kannon.” A form of Kannon originally of esoteric origin and
possessing a wrathful appearance. He is invoked in rituals for
destruction of enemies, and as part of the Six Kannon (Roku
Kannon), Bato Kannon was seen as the savior from the
realm of beasts. Later worshipped as protector of horses
and travelers.
bija (Japanese, shuji 種字; Sanskrit, bija). “Seed syllable.” A Sanskrit
syllable or series of syllables (dharani) recited or visualized
in ritual, and associated with specific deities
and their forms.
Bishamonten 毘沙門天 (also Tamonten 多聞天; Sanskrit, Vaisra­
vasa). The deity known as the guardian king of the north, one
of the Four Heavenly Kings (shitenno) but also worshipped
independently. He wears armor, carries a lance, and holds a
small pagoda, indicative of his militant role as a protector of
the Buddhist teachings and the rulers who follow them.
bodhisattva (Japanese, bosatsu 菩薩). A being destined for
enlightenment, but not yet a Buddha, and who holds great
compassion for those suffering in the cycle of death and
rebirth. Popular bodhisattvas in Japan include Jizo, Kannon,
and Monju. Also a term used to refer to the historical
Buddha Shaka before his enlightenment.
Buddha (Japanese, butsu 仏). “The awakened one.” An enlightened
being; the Buddha.
Busshari, see relics.
busshi 仏師. A sculptor of Buddhist statues.
bussho 仏所. A workshop of Buddhist sculptors, often but not
always attached to temples. The main workshop for the
Nara-based Kei-school sculptors in the Kamakura period
was at Kofukuji temple. Another Kei-school workshop
was based in Kyoto, the Shichijo bussho, named after its
location in Kyoto on Shichijo, “seventh avenue.”
Byodo-in 平等院. A temple in Uji, south of Kyoto, housing the
famous statue of Amida Nyorai created by the Heian-period
sculptor Jocho in 1053. The hall housing this image, the
Phoenix Hall, and the gardens surrounding it, are said to be
modeled on the Pure Land of Amida.
chakra, see rinbo.
chakravartin (Japanese, tenrin-o 転輪王). “Wheel-turning king”
or “universal monarch.” An Indian concept of the ideal
benevolent king who rules the universe. When the historical
Buddha Shakyamuni was born, it was prophesied that he
would either become a chakravartin or a Buddha.
Chen Heqing 陳和卿 (active 1182–1217). A Chinese carpenter and
craftsman who had come to Japan in search of employment,
and was enlisted by Shunjobo Chogen to direct the
recasting of the bronze Great Buddha of Todaiji after its
destruction in 1180.
chigo 稚児. Acolyte. A male youth resident at a temple and in
training to become a monk. The term is also applied to
deities that are represented in child forms, as, for example,
the bodhisattva Monju.
Chogen, see Shunjobo Chogen.
Chonen 奝然 (938–1016). Heian-period Japanese monk who
traveled to China and brought back a copy (or by some
later legendary accounts, the original) of the Shaka image
created by King Udayana in the exact likeness of the
historical Buddha.
daibusshi 大仏師. “Great Buddhist sculptor.” A master sculptor,
usually the head of a sculpture workshop (bussho).
Daihoonji 大法恩寺 (also Senbon Shakado 千本釈迦堂). A temple
in Kyoto, it houses a remarkable set of large plain-wood
statues of the Six Kannon created by Higo Busshi Jokei
in 1224.
Daiitoku Myoo 大威徳明王 (Sanskrit, Yamantaka). “Wisdom
king of awesome virtue.” One of the five Wisdom Kings
(Godai Myoo), originally derived from the Indian god of
death Yamantaka. He represents the wrathful manifestation
of Amida Buddha. He often has six faces, six arms, and six
legs, and rides a water buffalo as his mount. He is worshipped in esoteric rites for spiritual advancement and for
worldly benefits, including the defeat of enemies.
Dainichikyo 大日経 (Sanskrit, Mahavairocanasutra). One of the
most important scriptures in the esoteric Buddhist tradition,
it was likely composed in the seventh century and translated
into Chinese in the eighth century. The Japanese monk Kukai
studied the text in China and brought it back to Japan in
the early ninth century.
Dainichi Nyorai 大日如来 (Sanskrit, Vairocana). “Great Sun
Buddha.” The cosmic Buddha at the center of the esoteric
pantheon, as shown in the Womb World and Diamond
World Mandalas; the personification of ultimate truth, and
whose body is comprised of the whole universe.
danzo 檀像. Originally referring to Buddhist statues made from rare
sandalwood or other aromatic wood, it can also apply to
statues made from other trees in the plain-wood tradition,
with only touches of color on eyes, lips, and hair. The
legendary first image of the historical Buddha Shaka was
made of sandalwood, which was the model for the sandalwood Seiryoji Shaka statue brought to Japan from China.
Copyright @Yale University Press 2015 For marketing purposes only
dharani (Japanese, darani 陀羅尼; Sanskrit, dharani). Mystical
incantations or formulas. The sounds (and written symbols)
of the dharani themselves are seen as sacred rather than
conveying semantic meaning. Dharani can be recited in ritual
or written down, as, for example, in inscriptions on the
interiors of statues.
Diamond World Mandala (Japanese, kongokai mandara 金剛界曼
荼羅; Sanskrit, vajradhatu). One of the two main mandalas
of esoteric Buddhism, centered on the cosmic Buddha
Dainichi, and brought to Japan by Kukai. Used in the Tendai
and Shingon schools. The mandala consists of nine courts or
assemblies. Like the Womb World Mandala with which it is
often paired, the central deity is the cosmic Buddha Dainichi.
Eison 叡尊 (1201–1290; also Eizon). Founder of the Shingon-ritsu
school, based at the Saidaiji temple in Nara, which combined
the esoteric practices of Shingon with the adherence to the
precepts and devotion to Shaka of the Ritsu school. Eison
was therefore representative of eclectic practice of the
Kamakura period. He worked closely with Kei-school and
Zen-school sculptors on numerous image-making projects.
Eleven-headed Kannon, see Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu.
Abe no Monjuin 阿倍の文殊院. A Kegon-school temple in Nara,
it houses a large pentad created by Kaikei of Monju riding
a lion surrounded by four attendants.
agyo 阿形. This refers to the open-mouthed figure of a pair of gate
guardians or lion-dogs. As the first letter of the Sanskrit
alphabet, “A” is pronounced with an open mouth, and
represents the beginning of all things; the opposite, closedmouthed figure is ungyo and represents the end of all things.
Aizen Myoo 愛染明王. “The Wisdom King of love,” so-called
because he loves sentient beings and helps them to enlightenment. He is the center of a ritual to avoid calamities and gain
fortune, and he has a fierce expression, three faces, and six
arms. In some rituals he is also invoked as “king of lust.”
Amida Butsu 阿弥陀仏 (Sanskrit, Amitabha). The Buddha of infinite
light, and the lord of the Western Pure Land. The scriptures
about this Buddha teach that one can achieve rebirth in the
Pure Land by reciting the name of Amida (nenbutsu) with a
sincere heart, and that he will descend to greet the devotee
upon his or her death (raigo). Devotion to Amida was popular
among the aristocracy in the Heian period, and popular
movements advocating the exclusive practice
of the nenbutsu spread widely in the Kamakura period.
Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 (Sanskrit, Amitabha Tathagata). The
Buddha of infinite light; see Amida Butsu.
An’Ami mode (Japanese, An’ami yo 安阿弥様). A style of sculpture
initiated by Kaikei, who signed works in this style with the
name An’Amidabutsu. Characterized by a combination of
Kei-school naturalism and gentle idealization. Widely
imitated in later years, especially in devotional images of
the Buddha Amida.
An’Amidabutsu 安阿弥陀仏. A devotional name given to Kaikei
by Shunjobo Chogen, frequently appearing as the artist’s
signature on works from the late twelfth and early thirteenth
centuries. It references his faith in the Buddha Amida of the
Western Pure Land.
69