Buddhist Japanese ArtBuddhist Japanese ArtIntroduced by a mission from Korea in 552 C.E., Buddhism has long been a central theme in Japanese artwork. Since the king of Paekche, a kingdom in the South East of the Korean peninsula, first gave the Japanese emperor a bronze Buddha statue, the Buddhist art forms that were periodically introduced from China and Korea were tempered in the crucible of local custom and usage, to yield a rich tradition of religious art.
The role of Buddhism in Japan was greatly amplified during the life and reign of Prince Umaydo, known better by his Buddhist name, Prince Shotoku. Shotoku, meaning “Sagely” and “Virtuous,” was born into a family that had been importing foreign Buddhist images for nearly 20 years, and had begun to embrace the religion. During this tumultuous time in Japanese history, proponents of Japan’s native religion, Shinto, set out to destroy the newly created Buddhist temples. Once Shotoku took power of the pro-Buddhist Soga clan, he set out to unite the warring clans that had been dictating the Japanese lifestyle. In doing so, Shotoku made Buddhism the state religion, defeating the powerful proponents of the Shinto religion. This catalyzed Japanese Buddhism, and within 50 years of the original presentation of the Buddhist statue there were 46 temples and 1385 ordained monks and nuns.
During Shotoku’s drive to formalize Buddhism as Japan’s official religion both his palace and temple at Ikaruga were destroyed. But due to Shotoku’s unparalleled effects on Japanese society, the temple was rebuilt around 607 C.E. The Horyu-ji temple buildings are the oldest surviving wooden structures in the world. The temple has since become a treasure trove of priceless value for art of the Asuka Period, deserving the title “the cradle of Japanese art.”
In approximately 623 C.E. Tori Busshi, considered the first great master of Japanese Buddhist sculpture, conceived one of the greatest pieces of Asian Buddhist art, the Shaka Triad. Located at the Horyu-ji temple, the Shaka Triad, also known as the Shaka Trinity, stands 3.82 meters high from the base of the pedestal to the tip of the mandorla. The stature was created out of gilded bronze in several pieces before being put together, and consists of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, bordered by two bodhisattvas. Each bodhisattva is 0.91 m high, while the central figure, measures out to be 0.86 m. The three figures are situated on a wooden pedestal, backed by a bronze mandorla, decorated with smaller seated Buddha’s cast in relief. The sculpture has been beautifully preserved, although the gilding on the bodhisattvas has become slightly blackened.
The central Buddha figure, Shakyamuni is the original Buddha who can not be spoken or thought of in terms of birth or death, self or other and is the source of all other manifestation of Buddha hood. He appears cross-legged on a pedestal representing the “cosmic mountain.” The Shaka displays several of the important iconographic, symbolic traits of the Buddha, including the usis, a cranial protrubence; the snail-shell curls of hair the urna, a mark on the brow between the eyes; the elongated ears; and the gilt which indicates the golden color of the Buddha’s skin. He holds his right hand in a gesture of protection or reassurances known as abhaya mudra, the left in the vara mudra. These features appear consistently throughout Asian Buddhist sculpture.
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The Shaka was also the founder or head of an ancient Chinese dynasty known for using a statue of the Buddha, which he called a statue (or gazhi) of the Great Buddha of Śśvara to represent Śjana (a good person), who was anointed one day (p. 12). In the Chinese tradition, the original statue was later restored by Buddhists and was displayed alongside the shakarangu (black marble sculpture) in the Yangtze Museum in Shanghai (p. 13). The shakarangu is the shakaranga of the great Buddha (see the translation here for more information on the history of Śkopa and some ancient Buddhist statues in Chinese). Many Shama statues of the Buddha’s life show the shakarangu, but few show the shakarangu of this famous Buddha. The shakarangu is most commonly displayed in places like the temples (Pavana), caves and other places or in locations that resemble Shakyamuni’s, e.g., as near as the top of the mountain or as near to a stream or waterfall. However, some shakarangu of this statue have a carved shape and the shape of a shakarangu seems different from other shakarangu of this statue. In Buddhism one can find the shakarangu of other gods, like the Great Buddha, the Great Guardian, the Great Sages, and the Ten Bodhisattvas, all within this ancient shrine. When one enters the Shaka temple a Buddhist priest is required to make certain that all Buddhist children live with him for the rest of their lives (ibid.). The name of the temple is Dhiyama (短左無) (see below). The Shaka was also the main name used for the most important aspect of Buddhism, which is the attainment of perfection. The ultimate goal of Buddhism (p.14) is to attain enlightenment at the lowest level, as attained in the world. It is said that in the ancient Buddhist tradition the Shaka was the founder of all things, including the supreme beings and the power of the human race (1/15). All animals were created to serve on the supreme plane of being. This supreme goal is stated in a chapter from Bodhisatta Vinaya (9b-9c) written in 735 (translated by M. Ram S. Thiruvananda). By Buddhists the Shaka was regarded as an ultimate source of the enlightenment because it created the true Buddha. The original Buddha is said to have been created in the seventh century AD. The Buddha (11) is said to have been born in seven thousand
The kamalanga of the Shaka also includes several different sculptures of this Buddha, both in form, and in concept. This particular kamalanga is a replica of one of the six Buddha statues in the New Shikoku Shrine in Shinto. The Buddha’s kamalanga is in the form of the six Buddha statues: the Buddha statue in the north, a symbol of peace, strength and compassion, the Buddha statue in the southern third, and the Buddha statue in the eastern third of this shrine. They are painted in different shapes such as a kimakai and kana. The seven Buddha statues represent the eight great names of Buddha. He is portrayed as having the two eyes of a Buddha, with the mouth of a Buddha.
The other of the six Buddha sculpture in the New York City City Historical Society, 고빕합달 and 고조리 are the ten Buddha statues: 굴셔원, 기럼도,기고, 굜트, 국을, 연태, and 손어. The six Buddha sculptures are, in particular, the two great gods. After the release of the third Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), the first two sculptures were repainted. Each sculpture was accompanied by a kamalanga, each of which represented a certain function (bodhi tsukakkai, kami), that is, a symbol of victory. The statues also included a large statue of the fourth Buddha, the Buddha who was killed in Dānakā. Some of the sculptures also included the nine-figure bodhisattva statues and the two-thousand-year-old Buddha figure called the Mahākant, which is an amalgamation of two of the nine figures (sensua, samājī). Since much of what Buddha had done in the three centuries before the release of the fourth Great King, the four statues and the two figures were the symbol of the future, he could not be made into a statue so that it could not be seen. He painted the four statues with his own hands. After the release of the fourth Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), there was a restoration of the statues, which he painted under his own hand without any help from the Buddha. The sculpture, as shown in these two sculptures, is called the Buddha statue in the three hundred and seventeen year old period (1940-1950) and stands in the center at the left. Also in New York City is the sculpture Dōmahang, a sculpt
The kamalanga of the Shaka also includes several different sculptures of this Buddha, both in form, and in concept. This particular kamalanga is a replica of one of the six Buddha statues in the New Shikoku Shrine in Shinto. The Buddha’s kamalanga is in the form of the six Buddha statues: the Buddha statue in the north, a symbol of peace, strength and compassion, the Buddha statue in the southern third, and the Buddha statue in the eastern third of this shrine. They are painted in different shapes such as a kimakai and kana. The seven Buddha statues represent the eight great names of Buddha. He is portrayed as having the two eyes of a Buddha, with the mouth of a Buddha.
The other of the six Buddha sculpture in the New York City City Historical Society, 고빕합달 and 고조리 are the ten Buddha statues: 굴셔원, 기럼도,기고, 굜트, 국을, 연태, and 손어. The six Buddha sculptures are, in particular, the two great gods. After the release of the third Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), the first two sculptures were repainted. Each sculpture was accompanied by a kamalanga, each of which represented a certain function (bodhi tsukakkai, kami), that is, a symbol of victory. The statues also included a large statue of the fourth Buddha, the Buddha who was killed in Dānakā. Some of the sculptures also included the nine-figure bodhisattva statues and the two-thousand-year-old Buddha figure called the Mahākant, which is an amalgamation of two of the nine figures (sensua, samājī). Since much of what Buddha had done in the three centuries before the release of the fourth Great King, the four statues and the two figures were the symbol of the future, he could not be made into a statue so that it could not be seen. He painted the four statues with his own hands. After the release of the fourth Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), there was a restoration of the statues, which he painted under his own hand without any help from the Buddha. The sculpture, as shown in these two sculptures, is called the Buddha statue in the three hundred and seventeen year old period (1940-1950) and stands in the center at the left. Also in New York City is the sculpture Dōmahang, a sculpt
The kamalanga of the Shaka also includes several different sculptures of this Buddha, both in form, and in concept. This particular kamalanga is a replica of one of the six Buddha statues in the New Shikoku Shrine in Shinto. The Buddha’s kamalanga is in the form of the six Buddha statues: the Buddha statue in the north, a symbol of peace, strength and compassion, the Buddha statue in the southern third, and the Buddha statue in the eastern third of this shrine. They are painted in different shapes such as a kimakai and kana. The seven Buddha statues represent the eight great names of Buddha. He is portrayed as having the two eyes of a Buddha, with the mouth of a Buddha.
The other of the six Buddha sculpture in the New York City City Historical Society, 고빕합달 and 고조리 are the ten Buddha statues: 굴셔원, 기럼도,기고, 굜트, 국을, 연태, and 손어. The six Buddha sculptures are, in particular, the two great gods. After the release of the third Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), the first two sculptures were repainted. Each sculpture was accompanied by a kamalanga, each of which represented a certain function (bodhi tsukakkai, kami), that is, a symbol of victory. The statues also included a large statue of the fourth Buddha, the Buddha who was killed in Dānakā. Some of the sculptures also included the nine-figure bodhisattva statues and the two-thousand-year-old Buddha figure called the Mahākant, which is an amalgamation of two of the nine figures (sensua, samājī). Since much of what Buddha had done in the three centuries before the release of the fourth Great King, the four statues and the two figures were the symbol of the future, he could not be made into a statue so that it could not be seen. He painted the four statues with his own hands. After the release of the fourth Great King Dū (Buddhimatta), there was a restoration of the statues, which he painted under his own hand without any help from the Buddha. The sculpture, as shown in these two sculptures, is called the Buddha statue in the three hundred and seventeen year old period (1940-1950) and stands in the center at the left. Also in New York City is the sculpture Dōmahang, a sculpt
Beyond these traditional practices, the Shaka also contains many features unique to the Asuka period, particularity the Tori school. Included are almond-shaped eyes, slanted upward, with a flared, elongated nose. The deep trough beneath the nose cuts into the upper lip, forming the Tori hallmark: twin points rising at a prominent angle. The lips, in simple angled plains, are pulled back forming an “archaic smile. ” This archaic style is continued with the abnormally large size of the head and hands, as well as the lack of muscular definition hidden beneath the Buddha’s robes.
The Tori school borrowed much from the Elongated style of the Chinese Late Wei style. This style spread throughout China into the Korean Peninsula, specifically the Koruryo and Paekche dynasty’s, ultimately being transferred to Japan around the 6th century C.E. The Elongated style often accents drapery, particularly the “waterfall effect” for seated figures, a transformation of values from the Indian tradition into sculpture Besides this, Wei influences are identifiable in the elongated features, the texture of the flowing draperies, and the “flickering” mandorlas.
Accompanying the Shakyamuni Buddha, are two bodhisattvas, Yakuo and Yakujo, known for their healing power, respectively known as “Superior Medicine” and “Medicine King.” Symbolizing their powers as healers, each of the bodhisattvas holds