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Hôzan Tankai
Esoteric Buddhist Bodhisattva
1708
Ink, color, and gold leaf on silk
Esoteric Buddhism (mikkyô)
originated in northern India and Tibet. Immigrants from China
transmitted an incomplete form of this teaching to Japan in the
eighth century. Japanese monks traveling in China in the ninth
century acquired complete knowledge of this highly complex form
of Buddhism. They returned to Japan with large mandalas that
chart the relationship between various deities in a highly systematic
and hierarchical fashion. A small number of these deities eventually
gained widespread popularity in Japan, and artists often depicted
them as individual icons, as in this painting.
The complexity of the esoteric pantheon
compelled painters to focus primarily on iconographic details
such as the crown, the jewelry, and the implements this deity
holds in its many hands. Careful replication of these accoutrements
was necessary in order to identify the deity. The small Buddha
in the crown of the deity suggests that it is a manifestation
of Kannon Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas were divine begins who postponed
their enlightenment in order to help all sentient life fulfill
its spiritual quest. Kannon were regarded as the most compassionate
of the bodhisattvas. Precisely which manifestation of Kannon
is depicted in this work is difficult to ascertain with certainty,
however. Esoteric mandalas often include as many as twenty or
more different forms of Kannon. Doctrinal sources include many
more.
In general, icon paintings were heavily
ornamented. It was one way of highlighting the efficacy of the
image. The highly decorative qualities of the work, including
the application of cut gold leaf, were an integral part of this
enterprise. The artist's personal expression was muted but not
entirely absent.
The inscription suggests how this painting might have been used.
Meditating on this great Bright
King
One quickly attains the proper path
Completely masters the law
And extinguishes misdeeds
Seeking the vow within the heart
All repose in the mansion
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University
Art Museums, the Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for the
Acquisition of Oriental Art
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