The Earliest Buddhist Statues in Japan

The Earliest Buddhist Statues in Japan
Author(s): Donald F. McCallum
Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 61, No. 2 (2001), pp. 149-188
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
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DONALD F. McCALLUM
THE EARLIEST BUDDHIST STATUES IN
JAPAN
I.
INTRODUCTION
The
beginnings
of
any
artistic tradition have a
special fascination, particularly
when seen from the
perspective
of
subsequent developments.' Certainly
the
long
and rich
history
of Buddhist
sculp-
ture in
Japan
arouses one's interest in its
origins,
and there have been, of course, numerous studies
devoted to this
topic. Although
this
paper
is related to the
general question
of the
origins
of Buddhist
sculpture
in
Japan,
a more
specific focus is
suggested by
the title. First, the term "Buddhist statues"
is intended to exclude from consideration the small number of Chinese mirrors
incorporating repre-
sentations of Buddhist deities that have been found in Kofun
period
(3o00-6oo
A.D.) burials.3 The rea-
son for this exclusion is that there is no
proof
that these mirrors were associated with the
practice
of
Buddhism. These
pieces probably entered
Japan along
with other
categories
of mirrors, and
presum-
ably they
were
prized
as mirrors rather than as Buddhist icons. A second
point has to do with the
phrase
"in
Japan."
I have
deliberately avoided the
adjective "Japanese"
since it
implies some sort of national
I
An enormous literature exists concerning the
"origins"
of Christian art, and I would suggest that the student of Bud-
dhist art might benefit from this material. Among the more interesting recent publications, the
following might
be mentioned: Paul
Corby Finney, The Invisible God: The Earliest Christians on Art (New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994); Moshe Barasch, Icon: Studies in the History ofan Idea (New York and London: New York Uni-
versity Press, 1992); Thomas F. Matthews, The Clash of the Gods: A
Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1993); Hans
Belting, Likeness and Presence: A
History of the Image before the Era of Art
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
I994).
2 Kuno Takeshi, "Asuka butsu no tanj6" (Birth ofAsuka Period Buddhist Sculpture), Bijutsu kenkyZ315 (i980), 147-161
(hereafter abbreviated to Kuno, "Birth"); Alexander C. Soper, "Notes on
H6ryoji
and the Sculpture of the 'Suiko'
Period," Art Bulletin 33, no. 2
(I95I), 77-94, (Soper's article is in part a review of Langdon
Warner,Japanese
Sculpture
ofthe Suiko Period [New Haven: Yale
University Press,
I923],
hereafter abbreviated to Warner, Suiko); Francois Berthier,
"Les
premieres
statues bouddhiques duJapon, entrevues
"
travers les textes anciens," Arts
Asiatiques 41 (1986),
lo4-1o9.
A recent survey is Onishi Shuya, "Shaka sanzon
z6
no
genryu,"
in Mizuno Keizabur6 (ed.), Nihon bijutsu
zenshzu
2,
Horyzuji
kara
Yakushiji e: Asuka-Nara no kenchiku-chikoku
(Tokyo: K-dansha,
I990),
164-170. This volume, hereafter
abbreviated to Mizuno Keizabur6,
Horyu-ji kara, has excellent color
photographs of all of images discussed in this paper.
After this article was prepared, a
long study by Konno Toshifumi
appeared, entitled:
"Sh6rai
'hon'y6'
no utsushi to
busshi
(I)-
Asuka butsu no
tanj6
to Tori busshi,"
Bukkyogeijutsu
248
(200ooo),
69-98; the English title is given as "Copies
of the Imported 'True Image' and Buddhist
Sculptors
(I)-
The emergence ofAsuka Buddhist sculpture and the sculp-
tor Tori" (hereafter abbreviated to Konno, "True
Image"). As this article takes a
significantly different
perspective
from the one presented here, I will try to consider Konno's ideas and approach in as much detail as practical.
3 Mizuno Seiichi has dealt with these mirrors in
"Ch-goku ni okeru
butsuz6
no hajimari," in
Chzugoku
no
Bukkyo bijutsu
(Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1968),
2o-27
(Originally published in
Bukkyjgeijutsu 7,
1950o).
See also Wu Hung, "Buddhist Ele-
ments in Early Chinese Art (2nd and 3rd Centuries A.D.)" Artibus Asiae 47, nos. 2/3 (1986), 276-281. Konno, "True
Image," 71-73, argues that the inhabitants of Japan during the Kofun period had a greater awareness of the icono-
graphies of these mirrors than I think
likely.
149
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characteristics inherent in the monuments, whereas all Buddhist icons used in the
early period
under
discussion here seem to have been
imported
from the Korean
peninsula.
This
study
will end
just prior
to
widespread production
of Buddhist
sculptures
in
Japan proper,
the
period
referred to
by
art histo-
rians as the Asuka
period.
Although precise
dates are
frequently given
for the Asuka
period,
I
prefer
the more
general
circa
590
- circa
65o
A.D. dates, since such a
chronology
avoids the
impression
that Asuka
period
art sud-
denly began
in
552
A.D.
(or
538
A.D.) with the
"official introduction"
of Buddhism, and ended in 645
A.D. with the so-called Taika Reform.
In
approaching
the
fragmentary
material available, I will avoid the
type
of
teleological
search that
strives to locate
specific objects
that are then forced into the role of
original objects
on which all sub-
sequent developments
are said to be based. Instead, I will
attempt
to elucidate the
complexity
of the
early stages
of Buddhism and Buddhist art in
Japan, showing
how doctrines and icons entered the
islands in various
places
and at various times. Here
my approach
differs from the standard methodol-
ogy
of
Japanese scholarship,
which can be characterized as Yamato-centric: that is, the assumption
that Buddhist
practice
and
imagery
arrived first at the court in Yamato and
only subsequently
dif-
fused out to other areas of the
country.
Before
considering
actual images
extant in
Japan,
the documentary
evidence related to early
Bud-
dhist art must be examined. This evidence is
very incomplete,
and not
entirely satisfactory,
but it does
provide
us with some
potentially
useful information on the circumstances of Buddhism in 6th-cen-
tury Japan.
An effort to relate this
documentary
material to the surviving
monuments will shed some
light
on the earliest statues in
Japan.
Several small, gilt-bronze
statues form the core of the
study.
Included are two
images
in the famous
"Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities"
group,
now housed in a
special
structure at the
Tokyo
National
Museum.4
One, designated
as no.
IM,
is a
standing
Buddha
figure (fig.
I),
the other, no.
158,
a medi-
tating
bodhisattva
(fig. 4). Both have been
recognized by virtually
all
Japanese
authorities as
images
produced
on the continent, presumably
in the Korean
peninsula,
and
brought
to
Japan
at a very early
time, perhaps during
the second half of the 6th
century.
Other images
to be discussed in detail are the
Funagatayamajinja standing
bodhisattva (fig. 7)
and the Kanshoin meditating
bodhisattva (fig.
IO).
For our
present purposes,
the most
important
feature of these four figures
is that
they display styles
that seem to
precede
those seen in
images
assumed to have been made in
Japan during
the Asuka
period. The very early styles of these images must be stressed here, since there are other images in the
"Forty-eight Buddhist Deities" group and elsewhere, which are also assumed to have been imported
from Korea. However, as all or most of the latter images can be associated directly with the main cur-
rents of Asuka sculpture, they are not relevant to this narrative.
4 The "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities" group
consists of small, gilt-bronze images, mostly of 7th century date, the major-
ity of which were originally
at Tachibanadera, but then moved to Horyuji
in the medieval period.
These images were
presumably
for private devotion, but gradually
over the centuries were placed
in temples as their owners passed away.
Consequently, their present grouping is arbitrary, and it cannot be considered an iconographical unit. In the Meiji
period, Horyuji "donated" these images and other objects to the imperial household, and they were subsequently
trans-
ferred to the Tokyo National Museum. They are currently housed in an extravagantly
lavish new building opened
in
1999. A history of the display
of these sculptures, arguably
the greatest assemblage of gilt-bronze
Buddhist icons in
the world, is very much needed.
15o
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While the
images just
mentioned are, in
my view, the most
important examples
of
sculpture rel-
evant to the aims of this
study,
various scholars have cited other
images
as evidence for
early develop-
ments in
Japan. Consequently,
I
pay
some attention to these
images
in order to
provide
a
compre-
hensive
survey
of
problems
associated with the earliest Buddhist
sculpture inJapan. Finally,
the
study
presents
conclusions as to what we can
say
about the earliest
phase
of Buddhist art in
Japan.5
2.
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
There has been a
great deal of
controversy concerning
the date and
significance
of the so-called official
introduction of Buddhism into
Japan.6
While a definitive resolution of these
problems is not
possible
here, a brief
summary
of the issues is
necessary
in order to
put
the extant monuments into a
proper
perspective.
The standard account of the official introduction of Buddhism is
given
in Nihon shoki
(720 A.D.)
under the 13th year
of
Emperor Kinmei, equivalent
to A.D. 552.7 The text states that
King Song
of
Paekche
sent two
envoys
who
presented
to the
Emperor
one
gilt bronze
image
of Shaka, some banners
and umbrellas, and Buddhist texts. This is followed
by
a
quite detailed account of the
reception
of
these
gifts.
A second text,
Gang6ji
engi (A.D. 747), provides
a different version of
King Song's gift.
It
places
the event in the 7th year
of Kinmei, the tsuchinoe-uma
year
of the
cyclical dating system.8
Although
Kinmei 7 would
correspond
to 546 in the Nihon shoki
chronology, the tsuchinoe-uma
year
is
5 I
have made a
preliminary effort to analyze the process whereby Buddhism and Buddhist art were transferred from
Three Kingdoms Korea to Asuka
Japan in "Korean Influence on Early Japanese Buddhist
Sculpture," Korean Culture
3, no.
I (1982), 22-29;
Tamura
Ench6,
"Kan'yaku
Bukky6
ken no
Bukky6
denrai," in Kodai Chisen Bukkyj to Nihon
Bukkyj (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan,
I980),
1-18 (hereafter abbreviated to Tamura, Kodai); idem., "Japan and the
Eastward Permeation of Buddhism," Acta Asiatica 47 (1985),
I-30
(hereafter abbreviated to Tamura, "Eastward Per-
meation"). Konno, "True
Image," pays relatively little attention to the Korean peninsula in his
study, instead con-
centrating on China.
6
G. Rennondeau, "La date de
l'introduction
du bouddhisme
auJapon," T'oung Pao 47, nos.
I-2 (1959),
I6-29;
Tamura,
"Nihon no
bukky6
denrai" in Kodai, 19-36; Masuda So, "Kinmei
tenn6
jusannen
Bukky6
torai setsu no seiritsu: Nihon
shoki no hensan ni tsuite," in Sakamoto
Tar6
hakusei kanreki
ki'nenkai (eds.), Nihon kodai shironshu
(Tokyo: Yoshikawa
Kbbunkan, 1962), vol. I, 289-327; Mizuno
Ry-tar6, "Gang6ji
engi to Nihon shoki no bukkyb denrai nendai" in Nihon
kodai no jiin to shiryj (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan, I993), 82-Ioo;
Charles Holcombe, "Trade-Buddhism: Maritime
Trade, Immigration, and the Buddhist Landfall in
Early Japan",)ournal of the American Oriental Society
II9.2 (I999),
280-292.
An excellent recent study is Hong6 Masatsugu,
"Bukky6
denrai," in Yoshimura Takehiko (ed.), Keitai-Kin-
mei
ch6
to Bukkyj denrai (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan, I999),
240-265 (hereafter abbreviated to
Hong6,
"Bukkyo
denrai").
7 Nihon shoki, Kinmei 13th year, winter,
Ioth
month. W.G. Aston, Nihongi: Chronicles
ofjfapanfrom
the Earliest Times to
697, (Tokyo: Tuttle,
I972),
vol. 2,
65-67
(hereafter abbreviated to "Aston"); Sakamoto
Tar6,
et al., Nihon shoki I and
II,
vols. 67 and 68 of Nihon koten bungaku taikei, (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten,
I980),
vol. 2,
Ioo-Io3
(hereafter abbrevi-
ated to "Sakamoto"). I translate the
Japanese term
tennr
throughout as
"Emperor" for the sake of convenience; this
should not be taken as implying that the monarch of early Japan was in some way more powerful than, for
example,
the
"King" of Paekche.
8
Gangoji garan engi narabi ni ruki shizaichi, ed. by Sakurai
Tokutar6
in
vol.
2o
ofNihon shiso
taikei, jisha engi, (Tokyo:
Iwanami Shoten, I975), 8-9 (modern Japanese translation) and 328 (original text). For a discussion and partial trans-
151I
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equivalent
to 538, and that
year
must have been intended. Not
only
does
Gangoji engi give
a different
year
for the donation, but also describes the
gift differently, stating
that it consisted of "An
image
of
the Prince, one set of
equipment
to
sprinkle [water] on the Buddha, and a set of books
explaining
the
origin
of the Buddha." A much later
text,]igg
Shitoku
h66
teisetsu (mid-Heian), also
gives
the
year
as
538, but states that the
gift
consisted of"A Buddhist icon, Buddhist texts, and a monk."9
What sort of
image (or images)
was sent
by King Sing
of
Paekche?
And when did he send it or
them
?
Finally,
what was the
reception
of the
gift
in
Japan
?
Considering
the second
question first, most
scholars now believe that the date of
King Song's gift
was in the
year 538. Since this was the
year
that
King Sing
moved the
capital
of
Paekche
from
Ungjin (Kongju)
to Sabi
(Puyo),
it would have been a
highly appropriate
occasion for an
impressive diplomatic gesture.
On the other hand,
552
was a time
when
King Song
was involved in warfare with Silla, following
their
joint conquest
of the Han River
basin, which
they
had taken from
Koguryo.Io
Various
suggestions
have been made as to what sort of
images might
have been
presented by King
Sing.
If one assumes that it was an
image
of Shaka, as related in Nihon shoki, then the famous stand-
ing
Shaka from
KoguryS
with a date
corresponding
to 539 seems to be the most
likely
candidate for
comparison."
On the other hand, if the
Gangoji engi
account is
accepted,
then there would seem to
have been not one but two icons. The most
plausible
candidate for an
image
of the
prince
would be a
meditating
bodhisattva in the
hanka
shii
pose,
a
type very
common on the Korean
peninsula.'I
In the
hanka
shii
pose,
the bodhisattva sits with the
right leg
crossed over the left
leg,
the ankle
resting
on
lation of
Gang'ji engi see Miwa Stevenson, "The Founding of the Monastery
Gang6ji
and a List of Its Treasures," in
George J. Tanabe, Jr. (ed.), Religions of
Japan
in Practice (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999),
295-315.
9
Jjgf
Shatoku
huu teisetsu,
Ienaga
Sabura (ed.) in
vol.
2 ofNihon shisj taikei, Shotoku
Taishi shf, (Tokyo:
Iwanami Shoten,
1975),
372-373.
Io
For the reign of King Song see Ki-baik Lee, A New History ofKorea (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984),
43-44. There are many difficulties in ascertaining reasons for King S'ng's gift when one is required to make a choice
between the 538 and
552
possibilities.
See Tamura, "Eastern Permeation," 12-17.
11 For an illustration and discussion of the 539 Shaka see Junghee Lee, "Sixth Century Buddhist Art," Korean Culture, vol.
2, no. 2
(1981), fig. I,
and 28-30; Matsubara Sabur6, Kankoku kondd butsu kenkyf (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan, I985),
pl. I, 7-8 (hereafter abbreviated to Matsubara, Kankoku). I am using a sculpture from Kogury" here since there is no
image extant from
Paekche
of an appropriately early date. One can assume, however, that at this time the Buddha
figure from the northern and southern kingdoms of Korea would be basically the same in style and iconography.
As
demonstrated by Soper, the "Chinese" style Buddha figure was developed
in southern China during the
5th
century
and subsequently influenced the Buddha figure
in the later phases of Yungang and Longmen (circa 475-525). From
this northern source, Buddhism and Buddhist imagery moved to Koguryo. See Alexander C. Soper, "South Chinese
Influence on the Buddhist Art of the Six Dynasties Period," Bulletin of the Museum ofFar
Eastern Antiquities 32
(i96o),
47-112.
12 For this
type
of icon seeJunghee Lee, "The Contemplating Bodhisattva Images of Asia with Special Emphasis
on China
and Korea," unpublished
Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 1984; and idem., "The Origins and
Development of the Pensive Bodhisattva Images of Asia," Artibus Asiae 53, nos. 3/4 (1993), 311-357. For an extensive
series of essays see Tamura
Ench6
and Huang Su Young (eds.), Hanka
shii
zU
no kenkyf (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan,
I985).
Tamura, "Eastern Permeation,"I8-20, argues that Gangoji engi's "image
of the
Prince"
refers to Prince Sid-
dhartha prior
to his enlightenment,
and thus interprets "books on the origin
of the
Buddha"
as a narrative explaining
the life of akyamuni. Naturally, under this interpretation the hanka
shii pose would not be interpreted as Maitreya
(Miroku), the next Buddha.
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the knee, and with the
right
hand held
up
to the face, a
finger touching
the cheek in a meditative
ges-
ture. Possibly
the
"one
set of
equipment
to
sprinkle [water] on the Buddha" refers to a "Newborn Bud-
dha" (tanjo butsu) and the
appropriate
water
basin.3
Conceivably, although
not so likely,
Gangoji
engi
may
refer to
only
one image,
a
tanjo
butsu referred to as the
prince,
and the
equipment
needed to
per-
form a lustration ceremony.
This interpretation may
be
questioned
as involving
an
overly specialized
iconography given
the
early stage
of Buddhist practice
in
Japan.
Nihon shoki and GangjiJ engi provide differing
accounts of the
reception
of the
gift by Kinmei
and
subsequent
events. According
to Nihon shoki, Kinmei
was
very impressed by
the Buddhist icon, but
did not know what to do with it; the O-omi, Soga
no Iname, was in favor of receiving
the icon, while
the two
O-muraji,
Mononobe no Okoshi and Nakatomi no Kamako, were
opposed, arguing
that the
native
gods
would be angry
if a
foreign deity
was
accepted by
the court.
Kinmei
decided to
give
the
icon to Iname, who first enshrined it in his Oharida residence and then
purified
his Mukuhara resi-
dence so that it could serve as a
temple
for the icon. Later, after a
plague
struck and
many people died,
Okoshi and others blamed the
foreign god and, with the
emperor's permission,
threw the
image
into
Naniwa Canal and burned down the
temple.14
Gangoji engi's
account is different in several
important details; as we have
already seen, the date of
the
gift
and its contents vary significantly. Moreover, rather than
Kinmei presenting
the
gift directly
to Iname, Kinmei
follows Iname's recommendation and
gives
it to his own
daughter,
Princess
Nukatabe (subsequently Empress Suiko), and it is then worshipped
in her
quarters.'5
Finally,
a
year
after
acceptance
of the icon, when the
plague
strikes and various ministers assert that this resulted from
worship
of a
foreign god, although
Kinmei
prohibits
Iname from
worshipping
the Buddha, Iname
adopts
a
policy
of
passive
resistance which
Kinmei accepts.
The motivations of those who
compiled
Gangoji engi
are not hard to detect: the
gift
to Princess Nukatabe places acceptance
of Buddhism
directly
at the center of the court, just
where the authorities at
Gangoji
would want it to be when the
Gangoji engi
was
compiled during
the mid-8th
century; and, Iname's famous
passive
resistance and
Kinmei's
collusion with it
disposed
of the
embarrassing
matter of the
destroyed
icon and temple.16
Jogu
Shitoku hoo teisetsu offers a briefer narrative, agreeing
with
Gango-ji engi
on the
year
of the
gift,17
with Nihon shoki on it
being presented
to
Soga
no Iname, but differing
from both in
stating
that in
addition to icon and texts, a monk was also
included.,]oguf
Shjtoku hoo
teisetsu
also
specifies
that the
destruction of the icon was carried out in
570.
During
the
year 553, the
year following
its account of the
"official" introduction, Nihon shoki has
another story relating
to Buddhist images:
13 Tanaka Yoshiyasu, Tanjo butsu, vol.
159
of Nihon no bijutsu (Tokyo: Shibundo, 1979).
14 This account shows strong traces of Chinese texts, some of which were brought to Japan
in 718, when the monk Doji
returned from China. See Hongo,
"Bukky6
denrai," 241-242;
Inoue Kaoru, Nihon kodai
no seiji to shukyo (Tokyo:
Yoshikawa Kobunkan,
I96I), I87-232.
15 Since the dates of Princess Nukatabe's life are traditionally given as 554-628, this legend would be impossible for both
the 538 and 552 dates as the official introduction.
16
Gangaji engi does have an account of this event, placing it after the death of Iname.
17 Although they agree on the year (cyclical characters), there are differences in the month and day.
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During
the
I4th
year
of
Emperor Kinmei, Summer,
5th
month, 7th day,
a
report
from Kawachi
Province said: "From within the sea at Chinu in Izumi k-ri there was heard Buddhist music, which
echoed like the sound of thunder. A
glory
shone like the radiance of the sun." In his heart the
Emperor
wondered at this, and
dispatched
Ikebe no Atai to
investigate.
At this time, Ikebe no
Atai
went to the sea and the result was that he discovered a
camphor log brightly shining
as it
floated on the sea. At
length
he took it and
presented
it to the
emperor.
The
Emperor
ordered a
craftsman to make it into two Buddha
images.
These are the radiant
camphor images
now at
Yoshinodera.18
Nihon shoki has
yet
another account associated with Buddhism, dated to the 6th
year
of
Emperor
Bidatsu (577):
Bidatsu 6th
year, Winter, IIth month, Ist day,
The
King
of the Land of
Paekche presented (to the
emperor), by
means of the
returning envoy
Owake no
0
kimi and his
companions
a number of reli-
gious books, together
with a master of
vinaya,
a master of meditation, a nun, a master of
magical
charms, a maker of Buddhist images,
and a
temple architect, six
people
in all.
They
were installed
in the
temple
of Owake no
6-kimi
in
Naniwa.19
Owake no 6-kimi
together
with
Oguro
no kishi were sent to
"govern"
or "take
charge
of"
Paekche
in
the
5th
month
of 577. One must assume that this is a
typical pro-imperial exaggeration,
which dis-
guised
the fact that the two
Japanese
officials were not
going
to
Paekche
to
"govern"
that
kingdom,
but were
simply envoys
between two monarchs of
roughly equivalent
status. When
they
returned to
their homeland about six months later
they brought
the
gifts just
enumerated from
King
Wid'k
(reigned 554-98)
to Emperor
Bidatsu of
Japan. Perhaps King
Wid'k was emulating
the
diplomatic
strategy
of his
predecessor, King Song,
who had made Kinmei a
gift
of a Buddhist icon, su-tras, and
ritual
equipment
almost 40 years
earlier.
18 Nihon shoki, Kinmei 14, Summer,
5th
month, 7th day, Aston 2, 68; Sakamoto 2,
lo2-1o5.
Soper, "Notes on Horyfji,
77-79, has dealt in detail with this story under the heading: "The first Japanese Sculptor." Basing himself on Her-
mann Bohner, Legenden
aus der
Fruhzeit
des japanischen
Buddhismus (Tokyo: Deutsche Gesellschaft
for
Natur- und
Val1kerkunde
Ostasiens, 1934), and Mochizuki Shinjo, Bukkyj daijiten (Tokyo: Sabata Yoshihiro, 1936), 4314, Soper
traces the subsequent history of this story as seen in Heian and Kamakura texts. This development, however, is not
relevant for our present purposes
since it relates to later stages in formation
ofJapanese legends concerning early Bud-
dhist images. Particularly interesting is Soper's suggestion
that the legend seen in Nihon shoki was fabricated on the
basis of Chinese tales concerning miraculous images. See also Berthier, "Les
premieres
statues,"
Io7-1o8.
Konno,
"True Images," 70-73, takes this story more seriously than most scholars, arguing that there may be some factual details
within the legendary
narrative. He observes that the material -
camphor wood - is the same as that of other early
sculptures
such as the Yumedono Kannon, and suggests
that the model may have been derived from imagery on the
bronze mirrors. With regard to the mirror imagery,
he further argues that, since it is more pictorial
than sculptural
in character, this is the reason why a pictorial
craftsman was assigned the task of producing
the pair
of images.
In
Konno's opinion,
the new sculptures installed at Yoshinodera were not seen strictly as Buddhist icons, but rather were
conceived of as kami ("deities") of a Buddhist category.
19
Nihon shoki, Bidatsu 6th year, winter, IIth month, Ist day. Aston 2, 96;
Sakamoto
2, 140-141.
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Owake is not elsewhere recorded in
earlyJapanese history, although
there seems no reason to doubt
that he in fact traveled to
Paekche
on a
diplomatic mission, presumably bearing gifts
from the
Japan-
ese court, and returned from
Paekche
with
gifts
from
King
Wid'k. One can doubt, however, the reli-
ability
of the clause
stating
that he returned with six individuals associated with Buddhist
practice
and
technology.
This seems rather
early
in
development
of Buddhism in
Japan, and,
in
any case, one
assumes that such
people
would not have been sent without a
specific request.
The most
likely possi-
bility
is that these
people
were confused with the
group specifically
summoned
by
the
Soga
clan in 588
to
supervise
construction of Asukadera, their clan
temple.2o Apparently
those who
compiled
Nihon
shoki realized the difficulties with this account, especially
since Bidatsu is characterized as anti-Bud-
dhist., Thus the text states
they
were installed in the
temple
of Owake no 0-kimi in Naniwa
(present
day Osaka). Although
this
temple
is otherwise unknown, I assume that behind the Nihon shoki account
lies a
gift
of Buddhist texts, icons, ritual
objects, etc., as well as one or more individuals associated
with Buddhism, which ended
up
in
private hands, perhaps
to be installed in a household shrine at
Naniwa. In that
respect,
the situation is
roughly parallel
to
Soga
no Iname's
acceptance
of the
gift
from
King Sing
in 538 (or
552z).
Since
Emperor
Bidatsu was said to have been
opposed
to Buddhism, one
must assume that the 577 donation, like the earlier one, passed
into
private
hands.2
Although
the southeastern of the Three
Kingdoms, Silla, was less
important
in initial transmis-
sion of Buddhism to
Japan
than
Paekche,
that
kingdom
also enters the record in
579, when Nihon shoki
states that an
envoy
from Silla
brought
tribute to the court, including
a Buddhist icon."
Presumably
this account
disguises,
as usual, a
diplomatic exchange
between
equals.
The
year 579 marks the acces-
sion of King Chinp'ying (reigned 579-632), so possibly this mission was associated with the new
reign.
Buddhism
developed
later in Silla than in
Koguryo
and
Paekche, commencing
under
King
Piph~ing (reigned 514-40) at the end of the
52os,
growing
under
King Chinhing (reigned 540-76),
and
flourishing during
the
reigns
of
King Chinp'ying
and his successors.
Certainly,
Buddhist icons
were
being produced
in Silla
by
the
570s,
so there is no reason to doubt the
possibility
of the Nihon
shoki account.
The last Nihon shoki
entry
of relevance to this
study
is the famous one
during
the 13th year
of
Bidatsu (584) that describes how two icons were
brought
from
Paekche
to
Japan.23
The first, brought
by
Kafuka no omi, is described as a stone
image
of Miroku. The second, brought by Saeki
no
muraji,
is
simply
referred to as a Buddha. Both
images
were received
by
the leader of the
Soga clan, Soga
no
Umako. A considerable amount of effort has been
expended
in
trying
to understand the
appearance
of
these images, especially the stone Miroku of Kafuka no omi, which seems ultimately to have been
zo20
For an
analysis that tends to accept the fundamental veracity of this account, see Ohashi Katsuaki, Asuka no bunmei
kaika (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan,
I997),
120-123. Individuals associated with early work at Asukadera are tabu-
lated by Francois Berthier, "Asukadera mondai no
saigimi-
Sono honzon o ch-shin to shite," Bukkyogeijutsu 96
(I974),
56-57.
21
For a discussion of Bidatsu, see Inoue Mitsusada, Asuka no chitei, vol. 3 of Nihon no rekishi
(Tokyo: Shogakkan, 1974),
180-182
(hereafter abbreviated to Inoue, Asuka
ch6tei).
Hongo, "Bukkyo denrai," 254-255, argues that Bidatsu was per-
sonally opposed to accepting Buddhism because that would conflict with his status as chief
priest of the indigenous
religion.
22
Nihon shoki, Bidatsu 8th
year, winter,
Ioth
month. Aston 2, 96; Sakamoto 2,
14o-141.
23 Ibid., Bidatsu
I3th
year, autumn, 9th month. Aston 2,
IoI;
Sakamoto 2, 148-149.
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enshrined at the
Soga
clan
temple,
Asukadera.24 The most
plausible comparative
monument of Paekche
is a
fragmentary
stone
Maitreya kept
at the National Museum of Korea,
Puya.2I51
would
suggest,
how-
ever, that
by
the
year
584
we are
approaching
the era when Buddhist
sculpture began
to be
produced
in
Japan itself, especially
under the
patronage
of the
Soga
clan. Thus we are
moving beyond
the
period
covered
by
this
study.
Interpretation
of the
early Japanese
historical documents is
fraught
with
problems.
As a
general
rule, one must examine each text with
great care, attempting
to determine the author's motivations.
If a
specific
account seems to have been written
primarily
to enhance the
reputation
of a certain indi-
vidual or
group,
one must be
exceedingly
cautious in
accepting
its
veracity.
On the other hand, if what
is said seems not to be
basically self-serving,
we are
perhaps justified
in at least
tentatively adopting
its
data for our own
purposes.
In some
respects,
total
agnosticism
is as fruitless as blind
acceptance, espe-
cially
when it comes to a
period
such as
6th-century Japan,
for which so little documentation survives.6
3.
STANDING BUDDHA NO.
IsI
IN THE "FORTY-EIGHT BUDDHIST DEITIES"
The first extant
image
to be discussed in detail is the bronze standing Buddha, no.
151
(figs. 1-3),
in
the
"Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities"
group
in the
Tokyo
National
Museum.27
This
figure
is
41L3
cm tall
from the
top
of the head to the base of the
pedestal tenon; the
figure proper
is 33.5 cm tall.
Only
the
upper part
of the
pedestal
is
original,
the lower section
being
a modern
repair.
In
general
the
image
is
quite
well
preserved, although
most of the
fingers
are broken off, and
practically
all the
gilt
is lost.
Perhaps
the most striking
feature of this
image
is the
very
small head in
proportion
to the
length
of the
body.28
This is
especially
evident in
comparison
with the standard Asuka
period Soga-Tori style
24 For this image see Fujisawa Kazuo, "Kafuka no omi Kudara shbrai Miroku sekizb setsu," Shiseki to bijutsu 177 (1947),
81-93; Tanaka Shigehisa,
"Kudara denrai to sh-suru saisho no Miroku sekizb o utagau," ibid., 318
(1961);
Fujisawa
Kazuo, "Kafuka no omi Kudara sh-rai Miroku
sekiz6
setsu hoi," ibid., 323
(I962), 97-IO5.
25 For this image see my "Korean Influence," fig. 2, pp. 25-26, and Lee, "Origins," fig. 33. Although this piece may be
somewhat later than 584, it perhaps reflects in general terms the style of the prototype for the Kafuka no omi image.
Since so few pieces are available from early Paekche,
one has no alternative but to rely on those available. In Kukpo,
vol. 4,
Skpul
(Seoul: Ungjin Ch'ulp'ansa,
I992), pl. 4,
P.
I4,
it is dated
"ca. 600." Lee, "Origins," dates it
"second
half
of the sixth century." Lena Kim dates it "sixth century," Kim Rina, Han'guk
kodae Pulgyo chogaksa yon'gu (Seoul:
Ilchogak, 1989), 49, fig. 2.18.
26 I have attempted an analysis of some problems associated with textual material connected with making Buddhist
sculpture during the Asuka period in "Tori-busshi and the Production of Buddhist Icons in Asuka-period Japan,"
to
appear
in The Artist as Professional in
Japan
edited by Melinda Takeuchi.
27 The most detailed, technical treatment of this image is Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (ed.),
Horyzuji kenn6
himotsu
tokubetsu chosa gaihj, vol. 6, Kondj
butsu
2
(Tokyo: Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 1986),
15-I7
(hereafter abbrevi-
ated to Chosa); The six volumes ofChisa, published
I984-I990,
are being incorporated into a two-volume work, Tokyo
Kokuritsu Hakubutuskan (ed.), Horyu-ji
kennj homotsu: Kondj butsu (Tokyo:
Otsuka K-geisha) of which the first vol-
ume appeared
in 1996 (hereafter abbreviated to
"Kond6
butsu,
I996"),
no.
II
is
col. pls. pp. 32-33,
and
pls. pp.
II7-120,
232-235,
and text, pp. 440, 478-480; Mizuno Keizabur6, Horyuji kara, pl. 34; Warner, Suiko, pp. 41, 62, pl. 114.
28 Although it is not the intention of this paper to trace sources of the various images discussed in detail, the general sty-
listic prototypes
in China of standing Buddha no.
II
are apparent. Beginning with formulation of the "Chinese" mode
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Buddha, which has a
large
head and
proportionally
short
body.29
The ushnisha
(usnfisa)
is clearly
dis-
tinguished
from the dome of the skull, and none of the hair areas shows the
presence
of snail shell curls.
At the back of the head is a tenon that
originally supported
a halo. The features are rather coarsely
ren-
dered, but a
slight
smile can be detected playing
over the
lips.30
Curiously,
the
figure
has
practically
no breadth in the shoulders, while the
upper part
of the torso
seems short, suggesting
the
figure
is extraordinarily long-legged.
Seen in side view
(fig. 2), the
image
has a
profile
with the abdomen protruding
forward and the back concave. The
rhythm
of this forward
pointing
arc is broken to some extent
by
the
way
the head tilts forward and
slightly
down. One can
hardly speak
of a sense of modeling,
for all
bodily parts
are hidden under
heavy
robes. The arms are
abnormally short, and the hands
appear
to be in the
abhaya
and varada
mudrds.
The feet are moder-
ately large,
but
quite schematically
rendered. Seen from the rear, the
image
is schematic to an extreme.
The back view
(fig. 3), however, does reveal the
presence
of four rectangular cavities; the two at the
lower
part
of the
image
are
clearly
visible. This is a trait far more common in Korean than
Japanese
sculpture.31
Buddha no.
I51
wears the standard robes. Crossing
the chest, from left shoulder to the
right hip,
is
the line of the
sogishi (a vest). There is no articulation of folds
here,
so the fabric texture is not differ-
entiated from the flesh area above. Covering
the shoulders and continuing
down to below the knees is
the outer robe, which is articulated with
large
"U"
loops
that cross over the front of the
body;
these
in the later
5th
century as seen in Cave
6
at Yungang, one notes rather squat figures with their robes flaring out strongly
at the hems; then, in the early 6th century in the Central Binyang Cave at Longmen one sees the same formula,
although the drapery now becomes more
schematized
in arrangement and the robes do not extend out laterally so
strongly. A slight degree of elongation can also be noted now. These tendencies are much developed in the Eastern
Wei caves at Gongxian, so that figures in Cave 5 continue the elongation process, arrangement of drapery is further
schematized, and folds are somewhat flatter. Matsubara cites an Eastern Wei stele dated 543 which is similar in
pro-
portions and details to Buddha no. 151. See Matsubara
Sabur6,
"Shij hattai butsu: Sono keifu ni tsuite," Kobijutsu 19
(I967),
22-38, and fig. 2.
Even if we assume a stylistic prototype for this image existed in China by circa
55o,
it is difficult
to locate anything much resembling no.
151
on the Korean peninsula.
A four-sided stele at Yesan has on one side a
standing Buddha with some resemblances to no.
151,
including arrangement
of robe (with much of the under robe vis-
ible), related schematization offolds, and similar proportions. See Kim Rina, Han'guk
kodae
Pulgyo,
59, fig. 2.34; Kukpo,
vol. 2, Kinmdongbul
Maebul (Seoul: Ungjin Ch'ulp'ansa, 1992), pl. 113. (Both sources date the Yesan stele to the later
sixth or early seventh century.) Also related are two images in Matsubara, Kankoku, pls. 7a and 7b. Onishi (Mizuno,
Horyu-ji kara, 207)
attributes no.
151
to
Paekche.
29 See standing Buddha, no. 149 in the "Forty-eight," in
Chosa 2, 10-13, and Seiichi Mizuno, Asuka Buddhist Art: Horyuji
(Tokyo and New York, Weatherhill/Heibonsha, 1974), pl.
181 (hereafter abbreviated to Mizuno, Asuka); or the
My6j6in
standing Buddha, illustrated in Matsubara Saburo and Tanabe
Sabur6suke,
Sho kondo butsu (Tokyo: Tokyo Bijutsu,
1979), no.
II (hereafter abbreviated "Matsubara/Tanabe"). I
employ
the term "Soga-Tori" to refer to the main current
of Asuka sculpture, normally designated as the "Tori style." This terminology is intended to give equal credit to both
the dominant patronage group
- the Soga clan - and the principal supervisor
- Tori busshi.
30 In characterizing the face of this image, Kuno, "Birth,"
150o,
says: "Sono menso ga yaya manobishita
hy6jo
o shi." The
phrase manobishita kao is given
in
Sanseid6's
New Concise
Japanese-English
Dictionary as
"a stupid-looking face." Ken-
ky sha's
NewJapanese-English
Dictionary gives manobinoshita kao as
"a vacant-looking face." Although I cannot say that
I have surveyed all of Kuno's very extensive writings, I
suspect that he does not use this term to describe "Japanese"
images.
31 Korean images with openings in the back can be seen in Matsubara, Kankoku, pls.
56b,
77c, 78c, 79c,
8Ic,
90b, etc.
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folds are
strongly carved, with
high ridges
and
deep valleys.
The lower hem of the robe is
arranged
at
the front in a broad, downward
pointing arc, a somewhat unusual motif. Some
variety
in fold
configura-
tion is seen in the fabric
forming
the
"sleeves," although
the end of the robe thrown over the left shoul-
der is
entirely plain
at the back. Much more of the under robe is seen than is
normally
the case in
early
Buddha
figures.
The fabric is
arranged
in vertical
pleats
at the front, with an
undulating
lower con-
tour line. The two sides flare out
prominently,
thus
accentuating
the
triangular shape
of the
figure.
Interestingly,
the robe does not fall down to the
pedestal
but
hangs
at about ankle level; the ankles are
clearly visible, even in the
highly
schematic
representation
at the back.
The chance survival of
Standing
Buddha no.
151
provides
us with
precious
information concern-
ing
initial
stages
of Buddhist
practice
in
Japan,
information
supplementing
that available in docu-
mentary
sources.
Although
one cannot be certain, the most
likely
scenario is that a
person
or
group
from the Korean
peninsula brought
the
image, perhaps
around the middle of the 6th
century.
When
these
people
settled in
Japan,
the
image presumably
served as a
family icon, for
clearly
the
very
small
scale (33.5 cm) does not indicate
temple
use. If
brought
to
Japan by
Korean settlers in fact, they prob-
ably
had a sense of
large-scale temple
icons and thus could associate their
personal
icon with
public
Buddhist
worship.
I am
speculating
that this sort of
image may
not have been used for conversion
pur-
poses
but more
likely
served as an emblematic icon for
people already
familiar with Buddhism. Pre-
sumably
the
image
was
kept
in a small household shrine, only opened
to
display
the Buddha at times
of devotion.
A definite statement
concerning
the
iconography
is
impossible, although
it
probably represents
Shaka, the historical Buddha. In
any case, no evidence indicates
depiction
of other Buddhas such as
Yakushi or Amida, the cults of which became
popular
at a later date. One can
imagine
that the own-
ers were most
strongly
affected
by
the
image's warm, compassionate
facial
expression
and the
dignity
conferred on it
by elongation
of the
body. Although
we
might
be
impressed by
the
striking
side views,
it seems
unlikely
that such
qualities
would much affect
contemporary
devotees. No doubt
they
saw
the Buddha as an
agent
of
magical powers,
able to
grant wishes, cure ills, and offer succor after death;
certainly they
did not characterize the icon in
primarily
aesthetic terms, although they may
have been
conscious of its
beauty
at some level.
4.
MEDITATING BODHISATTVA NO.
158
IN THE
"FORTY-EIGHT BUDDHIST DEITIES"
The bodhisattva no.
I58
(figs. 4-6) seated in
hanka
shii pose, one of the most unusual figures in the
"Forty-eight Buddhist Deities," is generally considered by Japanese scholars to be an image imported
from the Korean
peninsula.
Since its very early style clearly precedes the Soga-Tori style formulated
32 Chosa 3, 15-16; "Kondo butsu
I996,"
col. pls. 49-51, pls. pp. 140-142, 260-263, and text, pp. 442-443, 492-94; for
a
color illustration see McCallum, "Korean Influence," fig. 4; Mizuno, Asuka, pl. 191; Warner,
Suiko,
33, pl.
56.
Prob-
lems are encountered in seeking a comparable image for no.
158
on the Korean peninsula. Matsubara ("Shijahattai
butsu," fig. 4) relates it to a meditating bodhisattva in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, which does have some
similar traits including:
(I)
a related crown form; (2) slender upper body and tubular arms; (3) schematized drapery
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during
the Asuka
period,
a
placement
at mid-6th
century
or a little later seems
appropriate. This dat-
ing
is
strengthened
if no.
158
is
compared
with
meditating bodhisattva no.
155,
which is a character-
istic
example
of the
Soga-Tori group.33
Meditating
bodhisattva no.
158
has a head of moderate size, but an
extremely
slender
upper body
and arms. The
hips
flare out
broadly, creating
an
hour-glass profile
when seen from the back
(fig. 6).
There is
virtually
no sense of the
legs' modeling
under the
drapery, although the feet are
large.
In side
view
(fig. 5) one notes that the back is curved, with head bent
strongly
forward. If the
figure
is
imag-
ined as
standing,
the
legs
would be
quite long
in
proportion
to the
upper part
of the
body.
The areas
of flesh
exposed display very
smooth
modeling,
with little
emphasis
on treatment of
specific details.34
The crown is a
large, single-element form, decorated with floral ornamentation.35 It does not con-
tinue around to the back of the head, but terminates at the ears. Hair
emerges
onto the brow from
under the diadem band, and
prominent
locks fall from behind the ears down to the shoulders, where
they
show two distinct curls at each side. There is no articulation of hair at the back of the head, pre-
sumably
because this area would have been hidden
by
a halo attached to the
large tenon there.
Although the face is
quite broad and
fleshy,
individual features, particularly
the
eyes
and mouth,
are small. The neck, however, is
very solid, especially
when seen from the side. Shoulders are of mod-
erate breadth, although they
have a distinct
slope.
The arms are
long
and tubular in
configuration,
with
essentially
no sense of
specific modeling;
the
fingers, too, are
highly schematic.
Interestingly,
while the
deity
holds his
right
hand toward the face in the characteristic meditative
pose,
in this
instance the hand is held
palm
out and the
fingers touch the chin rather than the cheek.36 The left hand
rests in the area of the
right ankle.
This
image
has no necklace, armlets, or bracelets.
Encircling
the waist is a
plain belt with a
large,
somewhat
peculiar buckle element at the front.
Suspended from either side of the belt are character-
istic side tassels of the
meditating bodhisattva. The costume consists of an
upper
and under skirt; the
former covers the area from waist
through
the
lap,
the under skirt is
draped
over the
pedestal. Some
folds. Nevertheless, the National Museum piece displays much greater realism in articulation of the right leg and
treatment of the
drapery folds over the pedestal. In no.
158,
the flat, schematized
folds are
very difficult to explain, and
Dr. Jungee Lee (personal communication, June 28, 1995) has expressed strong reservations as to whether
meditating
bodhisattva no.
158
was produced on the Korean peninsula. Onishi (Mizuno
Keizabur6, Horyuji
kara, 207),
on the
other hand, attributes it to
Paekche,
later 6th or early 7th century. Perhaps this piece was made by an
inexperienced,
provincial craftsman who had not fully mastered his trade.
33 Chosa 3, 4-7; "Kond- butsu
I996,"
col. pls. pp. 46-48, pls. pp. 136-139,256-259,
and text, pp. 442,489-492. Mizuno,
Asuka, pl. 80;
Mizuno Keizabur6,
Horyupji
kara, pl.
15.
Bodhisattva no.
155
is rather unusual, in that the right hand
does not touch the cheek, but is held out in front in the
abhaya mudrd.
34 M-ri Hisashi, in
"Sangoku chokoku to Asuka
ch6koku,"
Tamura
Ench6
(ed.), Kudara bunka to Asuka bunka
(Tokyo:
Yoshikawa
K6bunkan, 1978), 52, characterizes the flesh of this image as:
"tashika ni hosomi no numetto-shita
nikushin." Numetto-shita derives from the noun
numeri,
defined in
Kenkyusha's New
Japanese-English
Dictionary as
"slime," "sliminess," "slipperiness." I assume this is another instance of unconscious prejudice, similar to Kuno's
usage
of manobishita
hy j-'
cited above, note 30.
35 For the crown, see Chizawa
Teiji,
"Kond6
shijuhattai
butsu
h6kan
kU," Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan kiyi 4 (1968),
fig. 3, PP. 52-53.
36 For a
survey of
meditating bodhisattvas' hand positions, see Chizawa
Teiji,
"Kond6
shijahattai butsu
k6:
saibuhen -
te (B) hanka
z6,"
Museum 256 (1972), 4-11.
159
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hem-lines and folds are decorated with rows of
beading.
One is
surprised
to note that while some of
the
pleat
folds at the front are so decorated others are
plain,
as if the
sculptor changed
his intentions
in the middle.
The
pillow
on which the
figure sits, seen from the back view, is
represented
with
very heavy, plas-
tic folds. The
drapery
below the
pillow, covering
the
pedestal,
is arranged
in broader folds than those
seen at the front. At
present
the
pedestal
rests
directly
on the
ground,
as does the left foot, although
presumably
in the
original composition
there must have been some additional base element, perhaps
incorporating
lotus decoration.
I
speculated
above on the
origin
of
standing
Buddha no.
151
and its
possible function; here I would
like to
present
similar
speculation
on
meditating
bodhisattva no.
158.
As with no. 151, no.
158
must be
seen as an
exceedingly
valuable resource, both for what it tells us about
early sculpture
on the Korean
peninsula
and for what it
may
indicate
concerning
Buddhist
thought
and
practice
as
brought
to the
Japanese
islands in the initial
stages.
As is well known, the cult of the
meditating
bodhisattva was of
particular significance
in Three
Kingdoms
Korea.
Ordinarily, images
in the
hanka
shii mode are
thought
to be
representations
of
Maitreya,
the bodhisattva destined to become the next Buddha. Although
Sid-
dh-rtha can also be identified as bodhisattva, the
weight
of available evidence makes the
Maitreya
hypothesis
most
likely
for Korea.37
Since virtually allJapanese
authorities have
acknowledged
the
peninsular provenance
of this
image,
I would suggest
that it too was
brought
to
Japan by
a
family
from Korea that then used it as a house-
hold icon. The most reasonable assumption
is that
meditating
bodhisattva no.
158
embodied the same
cult associations as
comparable images
discovered in Korea Thus it
presumably
also is connected with
Maitreya worship. Although
there is no firm evidence, I would also
argue
in this case that the icon was
not used for
proselytizing
but served the needs of
people already
familiar with the
worship
of this
deity.
Of course, what
I
am
suggesting
in the case of the two
images
from the
"Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities"
group
is that
they
were directly
connected with the
religious
life of
"immigrants"
from the Korean
peninsula
who had settled in the Asuka
region
of Yamato Province. That these icons were obtained
by
residents of this
region
who did not have
previous
contact with Buddhism seems most unlikely
to
me, since such icons would obviously
have no
particular meaning
or value to such
people.
5.
THE FUNAGATAYAMAJINJA
BODHISATTVA
The Funagatayamajinja bodhisattva (figs. 7-9) is one of the most extraordinary pieces of early Bud-
dhist sculpture in Japan to come to light in recent
years.38
At casual glance, the image might seem
insignificant, but more careful examination reveals its very great importance. Not associated with a
37 See Junghee Lee, "Pensive Bodhisattva Images,"
345-349.
38 Kuno, "Birth," pl. IV, figs. 4a-c, pp. 151-153; Kuno has presented
a detailed analysis of this image in Torai
butsu
no
tabi (Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1981), 21-45; Mizuno
Keizabur6, Horyu-ji
kara,
pl.
35; Onishi Shfiya, "Asuka
zenki no
sh6 kond6
butsu to Chasen Sangokuki no
zoz6,"
in "Kondj
butsu 1996," 347, places
this image in the first half
of the 6th century; Matsuyama Tetsuo, "Funagatayamajinja
z6 kond6
bosatsu
ritsuz6 ch6sa h6koku,"
Mie daigaku
kyjiku gakubu bijutsu
ka
kenkyu kiyj
2 (1993), 105-112.
16o
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Fig. I Standing Buddha, no.
II
of the "Forty-eight Buddhist
Deities."
Gilt-bronze. Height:
33.4
cm. Front view. Tokyo National Museum.
Fig. 3 Standing Buddha, no.
ISI
of the "Forty-eight Buddhist Deities."
Gilt-bronze. Height:
33.4
cm. Back view. Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig.
2
Standing Buddha, no.
151
of the "Forty-eight Buddhist Deities."
Gilt-bronze. Height:
33.4
cm. Right and left side views. Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig. 4 Meditating Bodhisattva, no.
158
of the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities." Gilt-bronze. Height:
12.1 cm. Front view.
Tokyo National Museum.
Fig. 6 Meditating Bodhisattva, no.
158
of the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities." Gilt-bronze. Height: 12.1 cm. Back view.
Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig. 5 Meditating Bodhisattva, no.
158
of the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities." Gilt-bronze. Height:
12.1
cm.
Right
and left views.
Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig. 7 Standing Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height:
I5.o
cm. Front view.
Funagatayamajinja, Miyagi Prefecture.
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Fig. 8 Standing Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze.
Height:
I5.o
cm. Side view.
Funagatayamajinja, Miyagi Prefecture.
Fig. 9 Standing Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height:
I5.o
cm.
Back view.
Funagatayamajinja, Miyagi Prefecture.
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Fig.
IO
Meditating Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height: 16.4 cm.
Front view. Kanshoin, Nagano Prefecture.
Fig. 11
Meditating Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height: 16.4 cm.
Side view. Kanshoin, Nagano Prefecture.
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Fig.
12
Meditating Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height:
I6.4
cm.
Back view. Kanshoin, Nagano Prefecture.
Fig. 13 Meditating Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height: 16.4 cm.
Head and upper body. Kanshoin, Nagano Prefecture.
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Fig. 14 Mandorla, no.196, "Forty-eight Buddhist Deities." Gilt-bronze. Height: 30.1 cm.
Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig. 15 Buddha Triad,
#I43,
"Forty-eight Buddhist Deities." Gilt-bronze. Height of Buddha, 28.7 cm.
Tokyo National Museum.
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Fig.
16
Buddha. Gilt-bronze. Height: 28.2
cm.
Dainichib6, Yamagata Prefecture.
Fig. 17 Standing Bodhisattva. Gilt-bronze. Height:
20zo.o
cm.
Sekiyamajinja, Niigata Prefecture.
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Fig. 18 Standing Bodhisattva. Wood. Height:
93.7
cm.
Tokyo National Museum.
Fig.
19
Standing Bodhisattva. Wood. Height: 93.7 cm. Side view.
Tokyo National Museum.
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Buddhist temple,
this
image
serves instead as the shintai
("god body")
of a Shinto shrine.39 Mount Funa-
gata
is a
peak of
1,500oo
meters located on the border between
Yamagata
and
Miyagi prefectures;
the
shrine itself is on the
Miyagi
side. Since the icons of Shinto shrines are seldom revealed
publicly,
it is
not
surprising
that little has been written about this
image. Now brought
out from a
hiding place
every year
on
I May, however, the
figure
has become known to scholars of Buddhist
sculpture.4o
The
figure,
which is
only 15 cm tall, has been
through
at least one fire.
Practically
all the
gilt
has
been lost, and there is a
good
deal of surface abrasion. In terms of
proportions,
the head (with crown)
is rather
large
in relation to the
relatively
short
body.
The shoulders are
very narrow, and there is lit-
tle
sense of
modeling
in the
body.
Seen in side view
(fig. 8), the
figure
shows the same
profile
noted
above in the
analysis
of the
standing
Buddha no. 151. The hands are
large
and held close to the
body;
the
right
is held down, the left
up,
both with
palms facing
out. The feet are
large
and solid, forming
a substantial base for the
figure.
Various details of the crown and head are
particularly interesting,
and one detail is
apparently
unique among
extant statues in
Japan.
This is the
arrangement
of three
large
flowers at the
top
of the
head. Individual
petals
are delineated, and the central
stamen-pistil
element
projects strongly.
Crowns
of related
configuration
can be seen in China, including
a Northern Wei
figure dating
530.4I
It can also
be found on the Korean
peninsula
in a triad dated to
57I)
and in a
standing
Bodhisattva
figure, both
thought
to be from
Kogury6,
perhaps during
the second half of the 6th
century,41 on two pieces
of
about the same
period
from
Paekche,
one from Kunsuri in
Puy6,
the other from
Kyuamri,
also from
Puy,43
and from Silla on a Bodhisattva excavated from the site of Suksusa.44 The fact that this motif
is not found in Asuka
sculpture,
but seems
relatively
common in
early
Three
Kingdoms images, sug-
gests
that the
Funagatayamajinja image
was
imported
from Korea.
A normal diadem band crosses the front of the head, and a
single, leaf-shaped plaque
rises from it.
Elaborate streamers
hang
down from either side of this band, just
below the outer flowers, reaching
to
the shoulders.
Although
there is little
detailing
in the hair, one notes that at the back, near the base
of the neck, the hair is divided into two sections These then
hang
down the sides of both shoulders.
Looking
at the
image
from the front, it will be seen that these locks of hair
produce
the first two saw-
tooth
ridges
at the
upper
arms.
39 Christine Guth Kanda, Shinzi: Hachiman Imagery and Its Development (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1985), 3, 26-27.
40
For discussions ofshinbutsu bunri, the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, see Allan G. Grapard, "Japan's Ignored Cul-
tural Revolution: The Separation of Shinto and Buddhist Deities in
Meiji (shimbutsu bunri) and a Case Study:
TEnomine," History of Religions 22,
no. 3 (1984), 240-265;
and James Edward Ketelaar, Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji
Japan:
Buddhism and Its Persecution (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ,
199o0).
41 Kuno, "Birth," fig. 5; Matsubara Saburo, Chfgoku Bukkyo
chikoku
shi
kenky?,
2nd ed., (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan,
Tokyo, 1966), pl.
Iooe
(hereafter abbreviated to Matsubara, Ch
goku).
42
For the
571 stele, see Matsubara, Kankoku, pl. 8; for the
Kogury6
Bodhisattva, see Lee, "Origins," fig. 3, pl. 31, and Mat-
subara, Kankoku, pl.
2b.
Excellent illustrations of the flower motif can be found in Onishi Shuya, "Shaka sanzon
z6
no
genryf," figs. 68-70 in Mizuno Keizaburo,
Horyji
kara, 164-170.
43 For the Kunsuri piece, see Kuno, "Birth," pl. V; Lee, "Origins," fig. 7; Matsubara, Kankoku, pls. Iza, b; for the Kyuamri
piece, Kuno, "Birth,"
P1.
VI; Matsubara, Kankoku, pls. 13a, b.
44 Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (ed.), Higashi Ajia no hotoketachi (Nara: Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 1996), pl. 18 and
p. 237. (Hereafter abbreviated to NNM, Higashi Ajia.)
173
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The face is
quite long
and the brow
high; eyes
are narrow and the nose small.
Playing
over the
lips
is a
gentle
smile.
Although
the
jaw
is small, the neck is solid.
The
arrangement
of the
drapery
follows a standard late Wei
type.
Thus the scarf crosses over in
front of the
legs
in an
"X" pattern,
with the two ends
hanging
down at either side in a distinct fishtail
mode. Kuno Takeshi has
compared
the scarf
arrangement
to the two
Paekche
works cited above,45 but
more
relevant,
in
my view, is the
Koguryo piece
in the Seoul National Museum. Like our bodhisattva,
it shows a rather
wobbly
treatment of the fin-like
projections. Looking
at the
Funagatayamajinja
bodhisattva, one can see the
oblique
line of the
undergarment crossing
the chest. Two
layers
of skirt
can be observed at the lower hem-lines.
By
and
large
there is
very
limited articulation of individual
folds. Moreover, when seen from the back, there is little indication of individual
drapery
elements.
Turning
to the
jewelry arrangement,
one notes first the
large,
circular
plaques
at either shoulder.
The necklace is the usual
early type, consisting
ofa
single plate
with a downward
pointing
central
tip.
A
very prominent
"X"
jewelry string
crosses over the front of the
body,
with a
large
circular knob at
the center.
Although
this element
appears frequently
in Northern Wei
figures,46t
it
s not
seen in most
of the Three
Kingdoms examples, except
for the Suksusa bodhisattva where it can be
clearly detected
despite
serious surface corrosion. In fact, even in its
present damaged state, the Suksusa
piece
seems
remarkably
close to the
Funagatayamajinja figure, offering
the
possibility
that the latter
may
have
crossed the East
Sea/Japan
Sea
directly
to the Hokuriku-Tohoku coast before
proceeding
inland to
Miyagi.47
Kuno has
pointed
out that the
projectile-shaped
renniku does not
appear
in Asuka-Hakuho
sculp-
ture.48
Although
he does not mention this, the base of both the
Koguryo
and Silla bodhisattvas are
very
similar to the
Funagatayamajinja
form. Seen in side view, one notes that our
figure
has one tenon
at the back of the head to
support
a halo and a much
larger
one at waist level that would have been
used to attach the
figure
to a mandorla. In back view
(fig. 8) the
figure
shows
virtually
no articulation.
These traits would seem to
suggest
that the
image
was
originally part
of a triad and thus meant to be
seen
only
from the front.
In
considering standing
Buddha no.
II
and meditating
bodhisattva no.
158,
I
stressed the
strong
possibility
of their use as
independent objects
of
worship
in a household
setting.
One can
reasonably
assume that
standing
bodhisattvas also served this function, especially given
the
very large
number of
single
Kannon
images
that were made
during
the Asuka and Hakuho
periods. Therefore, one would
like to know what sort of
single
bodhisattva icon was current
during
the
period
considered in this
study.
The Funanagatayamajinja bodhisattva, as just noted, appears originally to have been one of the two
flanking figures ofa triad, and thus it cannot appropriately be analyzed as an independent devotional
45 Kuno, "Birth,"
I52yz.
46 For Northern Wei examples see Matsubara, Chugoku, pls. 78, 81, and
Iooe.
47 According to the measurements in the Nara National Museum catalogue, this piece is slightly smaller than that of
Funagatayamajinja (11.8
versus
15.o
cm.), although it is possible that different measuring systems were employed. Of
course, the most significant difference between the two is the arrangement of the hands, with the Suksusa piece hav-
ing its right hand up, left down, and Funagatayamajinja the opposite. Although this would be impossible to prove,
there is a chance that if both figures were flanking Bodhisattvas in triads they originally would have stood at the oppo-
site sides of their respective Buddha figures.
48 Kuno, "Birth," p. 152. Renniku refers to the pod or torus of the lotus blossom used as a base.
174
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object. Rather, it should be
compared with the various small, gilt bronze triads made
during
the 6th
century
on the Korean
peninsula. Unfortunately,
no
comparable triad is extant in
Japan
from our
period, although one can
reasonably assume, given
the
popularity of the
type
in Three
Kingdoms
Korea, that
they
were also a feature of the earliest Buddhist art in
Japan.49
6.
THE KANSHOIN MEDITATING BODHISATTVA
A
very important meditating bodhisattva
figure is located at Kanshoin
(figs. 10-13), Nagano Pre-
fecture in central
Japan.5o
Unfortunately,
this
image
has been
through
at least one fire, resulting
in
loss of the
right
arm from elbow to hand. It was later
repaired
in wood. There is also considerable dam-
age
to the rest of the surface. Nevertheless, the essential character of the statue can still be made out.
The head with its
prominent crown is
relatively large
in
proportion to the
body (fig. 13). The shoul-
ders are narrow and the
upper body extremely constricted, producing
a
very slender
figure. The arms
are tubular, and, because of the
damage just mentioned, the
original form of the
right hand cannot be
determined.
The
image
has a
relatively complex crown, consisting
of a
large, single element that dominates the
composition.
At the central
peak
is a sun and crescent moon motif, and below this is a
large flower
with a
prominent tassel
emerging
from its
center.5I
Floral elements are seen at either side, and tassels
are
suspended
from the diadem band at both sides. Hidden behind the crown are two knobs of hair
(fig. 12). The hair at the middle of the back of the head is
sharply parted, and locks fall down onto the
shoulders. The face is round, and the brow of moderate
height. Broadly sweeping eyebrows are accented
with central
grooves. The
eyes are
large,
and wide
open;
the nose is of moderate size, and a distinct
smile
plays
across the
lips.
Jewelry
is limited to a
simple, early type
necklace similar to the one seen in the
Funagatayama-
jinja
bodhisattva. The skirt is
supported by
a belt, which has a knot at the front and tassels attached
at either side.
Generally speaking, the
upper part
of the skirt is
simple, although there is a
fluently
undulating fold at the front of the horizontal
right leg.
More
complex drapery folds are seen in the fab-
ric
draped
over the
pedestal. The
pedestal is a
cylindrical element, and there is a lotus form
support-
ing
the left foot. This lotus element is no
longer supported by anything,
but
originally
there must
have been a lotus stalk or some other supporting element.
Kuno, in analyzing this image, has suggested that there are three characteristics indicating that
it is either an import from the Korean peninsula or an image made by a sculptor who had recently
come to Japan.5• The traits he finds important are:
(I)
the strong constriction of the upper body, (2)
49 Donald F. McCallum, "The Buddhist Triad in Three Kingdoms Sculpture," Korean Culture 16, no. 4
(I995), I8-35.
5o
Matsubara/Tanabe,
pls.
5a-c,
p. 335; "Kondo butsu 1996," 354-356; Donald F. McCallum,
ZenkVji
and Its Icon: A
Study
in
MedievalJapanese Religious Art (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press,
I994),
pl. 2;
Mizuno Keizaburo, Hiryfji
kara, pl.
33.
51
See Kim Rina, Han'guk
kodae
Pulgyo, figs. 2.62-2.66, pp.
103-IO6,
for this type ofcrown; Kuno Takeshi, Kodai Chosen
butsu to Asuka butsu
(Tokyo: Azuma Shuppan, 1979), figs.
I9-zo
(p.
II)
provides Indian and Chinese
comparisons (here-
after abbreviated to Kuno, Kodai Chosen).
52
Kuno, "Birth,"
154.
175
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the incised line chiseled into the
eyebrows,
and (3) the
carefully designed
tassel seen on the front of
the crown. Kuno
points
out that the area of
Nagano Prefecture, where the
image
was found, was an
important place
for immigrants
from the
peninsula,
thus establishing
a
convincing
context.
Certainly
the
figure
seems to
precede
the
Soga-Tori style
of the Asuka
period, although
it is not in
exactly
the
same
lineage
as the meditating
bodhisattva no.
158 analyzed
above.53
7.
OTHER MONUMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO THE 6TH CENTURY
In the
preceding
sections I discussed four images
that are almost certainly
works
imported
to
Japan
at a time
preceding
establishment of the studio that
produced
icons for the
Soga
clan and their allies.
There are several other monuments that also have occasionally
been ascribed to the
early phase
of Bud-
dhist art in
Japan;
this
group
must now claim our attention. Some of these
may
in fact be
early imports,
but others, in
my view, seem to be associated with a later
phase.
The first work is not a
complete
monument but a mandorla (fig.
I4)
that is all that survives of a
triad made on the Korean peninsula.
This is no. 196 in the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities." It bears
cyclical
characters that can most reasonably
be
interpreted
as
equivalent
to 594 or 654.54 Although
some
scholars have argued
for the later date, the
style
of the
piece
does not seem
appropriate
for mid-7th
century;
if
actually produced
in 654,
the
style
would have been decidedly
old-fashioned by
that time.
Consequently,
the 594 date seems more
appropriate,
thus
placing
the mandorla
right
at a time
equiv-
alent to the
beginning
of the Asuka
period
in
Japan, just
at the time the
Soga-Tori style
was receiv-
ing
initial formulation. Comparison
with the mandorlas of the
H-ryuji
Kond6
Shaka triad and the
Horyuxji
Museum triad dated 628 makes clear that the mandorla under consideration fits
squarely
within the
Soga-Tori group.55
Triad no. 143 (fig. 15) of the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities" has also
frequently
been given
an
early
date, but this attribution seems most unlikely.56 In particular,
the
figure style
of the central Buddha
appears
rather advanced, making
a
7th century
date much more likely
than one in the 6th
century.
If
53 The closest prototype
for the
Kansh6in
image is a badly damaged meditating bodhisattva now in
J6rinji,
a temple on
the island Tsushima located between the Korean peninsula
and northern Kyushu. The proximity of Tsushima to
Paekche
indicates a
Paekche origin for both the
J6rinji
piece and the Kanshoin image.
For detailed discussion of the
J6rinji
meditating bodhisattva, see Onishi Sh ya,
"TsushimaJ6rinji
no d zo hanka zo ni tsuite," Tamura and Huang,
Hanka shii zj, 305-326.
Other images
in the Kanshoin lineage
in Japan include meditating bodhisattvas in Koyaji,
Matsubara/Tanabe, pls. 6c-c, and Gokurakuji, ibid., pls. 7a-c. These images seem slightly later than the Kanshoin
meditating bodhisattva.
54
The most complete publication
of this mandorla is Nara Kokuritsu Bunkazai
Kenkyuj6,
Asuka
Shiry6kan
(ed.), Asuka-
Hakuho no
zaimei
kondo butsu, first edition, Nara, 1976, pls., pp. 10-II,
and
pp. 72-73, 97-98; second, expanded
edi-
tion, Nara, 1979, pls., pp. 51-56, pp. 148-149,173-174 (hereafter abbreviated to
Zaimei
kondo butsu); Kumagai Nobuo,
"Ko-in mei O Enson zo kchai
k6,"
Bijutsu kenkyu-
209 (I96o),
223-241; Mizuno, Asuka, pl. 167; Mizuno Keizaburo,
Horyujji kara,
pl. 37; McCallum, "The Buddhist Triad," 26-29, fig. 7.
55
Zaimei kondu butsu,
(H6ryuji Kond6
Shaka triad), first edition, pls., pp. 56-57, P. 116; second edition, pls. pp. 132-133,
pp. 192-193; (628 triad), first edition, pls. pp. 17-23,
pp.
75-76,
99-1lo;
second edition, pls. pp. 61-66, pp.
151-152,
175-177. See also, Mizuno, Asuka, pl.
6
(Kond6
triad) and pl. I (628 triad); Mizuno Keizabur6, Horyiji
kara, pls.
7-1o
(Kond6
triad) and pl. 13 (628 triad).
176
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the Buddha of no. 143 is
compared
to our
standing
Buddha no.
I51
the
stylistic differences should be
immediately apparent.
A
standing
Buddha
figure (fig. 16) at Dainichibo, Yamagata Prefecture,57 has been
given
a Korean
provenance by
some scholars. This
figure, 28.5
cm tall, has lost both its halo and
pedestal,
but is other-
wise
quite
well
preserved.
In certain details the Dainichibo Buddha resembles the Buddha of Triad
no.
143 just considered; for
example,
the bow at the chest, the
relationship
between the outer robe and
the under robe at the base, and the manner in which the ankles are revealed. Other features are differ-
ent, suggesting
somewhat variant
lineages. Although
it has sometimes been
given
a late
6th-early
7th century date, I believe a
7th century
attribution is most
likely.
Whether or not the Dainichibo
Buddha was
produced
in
Paekche
remains to be
determined. 5
There is a
good
deal of debate
concerning the
provenance
and date of the
Sekiyamajinja
bodhisattva
(fig. 17).59 As was the case with the
Funagatayamajinja
bodhisattva considered earlier, the
present
image
is also the
shintai
of a Shinto shrine, one located in
Niigata Prefecture
along
the East
Sea/Japan
Sea coast. One scholar has
suggested
a Chinese
Liang dynasty
(50o2-557
A.D.) provenance, although
the
consensus seems to be for the Korean
peninsula;
to the best of
my knowledge, no scholar has
seriously
advocated
Japanese manufacture.6o
Controversy
also exists as to the date: if the
Liang
Chinese
provenance
is
accepted,
the
image
would
have to date to the first half of the 6th
century,
which seems rather
early;
a Korean
provenance would
imply
later 6th or first decades of the 7th century.
I
personally
believe that
placement
at the
very
end
of the 6th
century
or
early decades of the 7th century
is most
appropriate.
If
my dating
is
acceptable,
the
Sekiyamajinja
bodhisattva falls
slightly
outside of the time
range considered in this
study.
Because the
Sekiyamajinja
bodhisattva has survived at least one serious fire, there is
very substan-
tial
damage
to the surface, including
total loss of both
hands.'61 However, most details of
modeling,
drapery,
and
jewelry
are still visible, allowing reasonable assessment of their characteristics. In terms
of facial features and
body modeling,
this
image
seems
substantially advanced
beyond the Funa-
gatayamajinja figure. Arrangement
of
drapery
and
jewelry elements is similar to that of the latter
56
Chisa
I,
4-14;
"Kond6
butsu 1996," col.
pls., pp.
I2-15,
pls. pp. 76-84, 186-93, text
pp. 436-437, 449-457. The label
for this triad at the Tokyo National Museum now reads: "Three Kingdoms or Asuka." I have discussed this triad in
McCallum, Zenkoji and Its Icon, 59-60, pl.
Io.
See also Mizuno Keizabur6, Horyuji kara, pl. 3o; and McCallum, "Bud-
dhist Triad, 29-30, figs.
8-0I.
57 Illustrated in Matsubara/Tanabe, pls.
I2a-c,
p.
337.
58 Asai Kazuharu in Mizuno Keizabur6, Horyuji kara, zo6, places it in the Three Kingdoms period, early 7th century
and suggests that it was made in
Paekche. Earlier, in
Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (ed.), Tokubetsuten zuroku: Kondo
butsu -
Chugoku, Chosen, Nihon
(Tokyo: Otsuka Kogeisha, 1988):
4Ol,
Asai dated it second half of the sixth or
early 7th
century.
59 The
Sekiyamajinja bodhisattva is illustrated in Matsubara/Tanabe, pls. 4a-b; Mizuno Keizaburo,
Horyuji
kara, pl. 32;
Kuno, Kodai Chisen, fig. 21, p. 12.
For more detailed discussion see Kuno, Torai butsu no
tabi, 74-78.
6o
Lucie Weinstein has suggested that the
Sekiyamajinja bodhisattva may have been made in
Liang dynasty China; see
"The Yumedono Kannon: Problems in
Seventh-Century Sculpture," Archives of Asian Art 42 (1989),
37.
61
The way the arms are held in front of the body suggests that
originally this
image held a jewel in its hands. For this
motif see Kim Rina, "Samguk sidae uii
pongji pojuhying posal ipsang yin'gu: Paekche
wa Ilbon
Uil sang il
chungsim
Viro," Misul charyo 37 (1985), 1-39.
A Japanese version of this article is
"H6ju hoji bosatsu no keifu" in Mizuno Keiz-
aburo,
Horyuji kara, I95-200.
177
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figure, although
those of the
Sekiyamajinja
bodhisattva are more
complex
in articulation. This
figure
has often been
compared
with the Yumedono Kannon at
Horyuxji,
a
comparison
which would tend to
pull
the
Sekiyamajinja
bodhisattva into the 7th century
and
suggest
a
relationship
with formation of
the
Soga-Tori style.62
A final, doubtful work is
standing Kannon, no. 165, in the
"Forty-eight"
which bears
cyclical
char-
acters best
interpreted
as
equivalent
to either 591 or 651.63 Extensive
investigation
has convinced most
authorities that the later date is
appropriate.
But even if the earlier date is
accepted,
this
image,
like
Mandorla no. 196, belongs firmly
within the
category
of
Soga-Tori sculptures.64
8.
CONCLUSION
For most of its existence throughout Asia, Buddhism has been a
religion
much concerned with
pro-
duction and use of icons.
Perhaps
because of this, no issue in the
history
of Buddhist art has been more
hotly
debated than the
question
of how the Buddha
figure originated
in India. For obvious reasons,
the
chronological
and
geographical
dimensions of that
problem
need not
occupy
us here, although
it
is
important
to
keep
in mind that Buddhism left India as a
religion strongly
committed to icon wor-
ship.
In fact, a
good
case can be made for the
proposition
that Buddhism would never have achieved
such tremendous success without this richly developed system
for
representing
the deities. While the
basic
steps
in
formulating
this iconic
system
were taken in India, the
specific
needs and
predilections
of various cultural areas to which Buddhism traveled
profoundly
transformed
appearances
of icons
received from the Buddha's homeland.65
To a certain extent, this last statement must be
accepted
on faith, since we do not
normally
have
specific images
transmitted from an Indian site to some other area of Asia.
Only by comparing large
complexes
in the
recipient
culture with
equivalent complexes
in the
hypothetical
source area can one
tentatively
isolate those elements that must have resulted from the
type
of transformation
just pro-
posed.
This sort of
investigation
has been carried out
extensively
with
regard
to transmission of Bud-
dhist art to Southeast and Central Asia, China, Korea, and
Japan,
often with
highly interesting
62 For comparisons with the Yumedono Kannon see Kuno, "Birth," 153, and Weinstein, "The Yumedono
Kannon," 37.
63 Zaimei kondj butsu, first edition, pls., pp. 24-26, pp. 76-78, 102-103; second edition, plates pp. 57-6o, pp. 149-151,
174-175; Mizuno, Asuka, pl. 63 left; Mizuno Keizaburo,
Horyuji
kara, pl. 39.
64 The argumentation
for the 594/654 A.D. Mandorla and the
591/65I
A.D. Kannon might seem somewhat contradictory.
I am suggesting that the mandorla probably represents
the early stage of formulating what subsequently becomes the
Soga-Tori style in
Japan
and thus opt
for the 594 date. If the 654 date is correct, the mandorla would have to be thought
of as rather old-fashioned in style. In the case of the Kannon, features of the inscriptional evidence, style, and tech-
nique suggest that the
651
date is appropriate. This, of course, implies
that it represents continuation of certain impor-
tant traits of the Soga-Tori group. Although not directly relevant here, a similar line of argument should be presented
in favor of the later date for Miroku no.
156
(See Mizuno, Asuka, pl. 61) with cyclical characters equivalent to
6o6/666.
In this case too, one can see some traits that continued from the earlier, Asuka period.
I am preparing
an article deal-
ing with the Kannon no. 165 and meditating bodhisattva no.
156,
which will analyze inscriptional, stylistic, icono-
graphical,
and technical evidence relevant to dating these two images.
65 I plan to investigate these issues in a forthcoming monograph
entitled "Seiryoji and Its Icon: A Study of Asian Bud-
dhist Art."
178
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results.66 With regard
to this
study,
I
believe one can assert that the earliest Buddhist
statues
brought
to
Japan
are more
fully
recoverable than those of
virtually any
other
recipient area, thus
suggesting
that these data
may
be useful for
comparative analysis.
The small number of icons considered here have
styles
that can be attributed to the
phase prior
to
the
Soga-Tori style.
In a certain
respect,
we have dealt
primarily
with an
aspect of Korean Three
King-
doms
sculpture
rather than with
Japanese sculpture. Nevertheless, without full
understanding
of the
sculptural
currents
preceding establishment of the
Soga-Tori style
in
Japan,
one cannot understand
developments
that occurred when
images
started to be
produced
in
Japan
itself.
Perhaps
this
paper
can best be seen as the
pre-history
of Buddhist
sculpture
in
Japan.
I have assumed in this
study
that Buddhist statues of the earliest
phase
would not
necessarily
reflect
a coherent
style,
but would
probably
manifest
significant diversity. Extremely interesting
is the fact
that some
early imports
from Korea are located far from the Yamato
region,
in
Nagano (fig.
Io)
and
Miyagi (fig. 7) prefectures. These locations would
suggest
that the
images came
directly
across the
East
Sea/Japan
Sea rather than
through
the Yamato area.
Presumably
these areas were not under
strong
Yamato control at this
early date, and so one can assume there was
independence
in terms of
selecting
icon
types.
On the other hand, images
no.
ISI
(fig. I)
and no.
158 (fig. 4) of the
"Forty-eight Buddhist
Deities" probably were
brought into the central Yamato area, although
in this case as well there does
not
appear
to be
any
sort of
stylistic unity.
All statues discussed here are
very small, which is not
surprising
since
they were
brought from the
Korean
peninsula
at a time
preceding "official" recognition
of Buddhism in
587, after the defeat
by
the
pro-Buddhist Soga
clan of the anti-Buddhist Mononobe and Nakatomi clans.67 At such an
early stage
it is
unlikely
that
large-scale images
would have been
shipped from Korea to
Japan. Moreover, since
temples
seem not
yet
to have been constructed in
Japan,
there would have been no need for full-scale
icons. Rather, we are
apparently dealing
with a
type
of icon that would have served
religious needs of
private individuals, who would have
worshipped
them in their own homes rather than in a commu-
nal
setting. Appropriate
here is further consideration of
just who these individuals
might have been.
Great caution must be exercised in
distinguishing
between
"immigrants" and
indigenous peoples
in the
early history
of
Japan. Perhaps
a
parallel can be drawn with North and South America: most
66 For Southeast Asia see Robert L. Brown, "Indian Art Transformed: The Earliest
Sculptural Styles of Southeast Asia,"
Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit
Conference, vol. X, Indian Art andArchaeology, Ellen M. Raven and Karel R. Van Kooij
(eds.), (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992), 40-53; idem., "'Rules' for Change in the Transfer of Indian Art to Southeast Asia,
Ancient Indonesian
Sculpture, MarijkeJ.
Klokke and Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer (eds.), (Leiden: KITLV Press, 1994),
10-32.
For Central Asia, see The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Along the Ancient Silk Routes: Central Asian
Artfrom
the West Berlin State Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams,
1982); Marylin Martin Rhie, Early Buddhist Art
of China
and Central Asia, vol. I (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1999). An
interesting gilt-bronze, standing bodhisattva, now in the Fujii
Yurinkan, Kyoto (Mizuno, Asuka, pl. 16o),
is either an
import from the West or a
piece made directly under West-
ern influence at the earliest stages of Buddhist
imagery in China. See Rhie's discussion, pp. 143-152. In
1967 a small,
seated Buddha was excavated near Seoul. This image is certainly an archaic Chinese image, dating to circa 400, and
must be one of the earliest Buddhist icons brought to Korea. See
Wong-yong Kim, "An
Early Chinese Gilt-Bronze
Seated Buddha from Seoul," Artibus
Asiae 23, no.
2
(i96o),
67-71.
67 Inoue, Asuka chitei,
198-I99.
That the Mononobe clan was strongly opposed to Buddhism seems
unlikely, given the
evidence that they had a clan
temple at a very early date. See Maekawa Akihisa, "Toraijin to Soga shi,"
in
Mayuzumi
Hiromichi (ed.), Soga shi to kodai kokka (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan,
1991),
70-7I.
179
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scholars
postulate
a
major
movement across the
Bering
Land
Bridge
some 12 or
15
millennia
ago by
peoples
from Asia who became the earliest inhabitants of the Americas. In a certain sense, these
peo-
ple
could be called
"immigrants,"
since
they migrated
from one
place
to another, but the term is usu-
ally
restricted to those who enter a
previously
settled
region.
From the latter
perspective,
the entire
population
of the Americas
except
for the Amerindians should be classified as
"immigrant," although
undoubtedly large groups
whose ancestors have lived on these shores for some time would
reject
the
appellation.68
What is the situation in
theJapanese
islands
?
Evidence
suggests
that
theJomon (circa
Io,ooo-3oo
B.C.) peoples
entered the
region
at a time when the islands were still attached to the Asiatic continent;
in other words, an exact
parallel
to the
populating
of the Americas.
Subsequently, large groups
of
peo-
ple
crossed the straits from the Korean
peninsula during
the
Yayoi (300 B.C.-300 A.D.) and Kofun
(3oo00-6oo00
A.D.) periods, establishing
far more advanced societies than had existed with the hunter-
gatherer
culture of the
J6mon
phase.69 Logically
these new arrivals should be called
"immigrants,"
but
as there was no dominant elite to so
designate them, this did not
happen. Large-scale
movement from
the
peninsula
continued
during
the 7th
and 8th centuries. Yet with establishment of more
highly
organized political entities, especially during
the Nara
period
(7IO-94),
efforts commenced to dif-
ferentiate
"immigrants"
from those who saw themselves as the
original
inhabitants
ofJapan. (The lat-
ter often believed
they
were descendents of one or another
"emperor,"thus allowing
them to trace their
ancestry ultimately
back to Amaterasu no omikami, the Sun Goddess, surely
no
"immigrant" herself!)
The new arrivals were referred to
by
the
pejorative
term
kikajin ("people
who came and
changed"),
even
though they normally
were bearers of advanced
technology
and culture so essential to continu-
ing development
of the new
Japanese
state.70
The modest icons studied in this
paper were, I believe, the
property
of these so-called
immigrants.
The reason
they
had such icons, of course, was that
they
had
previously
been associated with Buddhism
on the Korean
peninsula.
A fundamental
question
for
study
of
early
Buddhism in
Japan
is
just when,
where, and under what circumstances
longer-established
inhabitants of the islands first encountered
the new
religion
and its
imagery. Undoubtedly,
some members of this
group
would have come into
contact with Buddhism on visits to the Korean
peninsula
or China. However, for those who remained
at home, their initial
exposure
must have been
through
contact with more
sophisticated neighbors
from abroad. That this involved a conversion
experience
based on doctrines of Buddhist theology
seems
highly unlikely; rather,
Buddhist icons and associated ritual
practices
must have been seen as imbued
with great magical powers of benefit to
devotees.7'
68 A lively account of this story is Brian M. Fagan, The
GreatJourney:
The Peopling of Ancient America (London: Thames
and Hudson, 1987). More recent research has suggested an even earlier peopling, although that would not change the
present argument.
69 For recent material on the archaeological periods ofJapan,
see Richard Pearson (ed.),
AncientJapan
(Washington, D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution,
1992);
idem., Windows on
theJapanese
Past: Studies in Archaeology and Prehistory (Ann Arbor:
Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1986).
70 Seki Akira, Kikajin (Tokyo: Shibund6, 1966); Hirano Kunio, Kikajin to kodai kokka (Tokyo: Yoshikawa
K6bunkan,
1993).
7I
One book which has investigated these issues is J.H. Kamstra, Encounter or Syncretism: The Initial Growth
ofJapanese
Buddhism (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1967). Unfortunately, the study is so poorly
executed that it cannot be recommended for
180
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By
the 6th
century,
when
they
first
appear
in
Japan
in substantial numbers, Buddhist icons had
been
produced
- and refined
-
for several centuries. This
process
of refinement resulted in a
"power
of
images,"
an inherent attraction that must have had a
strong impact
on those fortunate
enough
to see
the icons.72
Perhaps
the initial reaction is
symbolically captured
in Nihon shoki's account of
Kinmei,
who after
jumping
for
joy upon receiving Sing's gift
and
stating
that he had never heard such a wonder-
ful doctrine, defers the decision as to
acceptance despite
his
positive feelings. Later, in the same
pas-
sage,
the Buddhist icon is
specifically characterized:
"the
countenance..,
is of a severe
dignity (sibo
tangen),73
such as we have never
previously encountered."
Surely
this
description gives
us some sense
of the
powerful
effect this new iconic
type produced
on viewers, although presumably
we will never
have more
specific
information as to
early reception.
That those who
possessed
the icons were
gener-
ally
well-educated bearers of advanced
knowledge
and
technology
would
necessarily
enhance both their
status and that of their icons.
Nothing
could be farther from the truth, in
my view, than a
picture
of
humble
"immigrants" being patronized by
a
superior
elite
group; rather, I believe that this initial
encounter with Buddhism and Buddhist icons must be associated
directly
with
adoption
of newer ideas
and
techniques
from the continent. Those whose families had lived in
Japan
for some centuries sim-
ply
did what their ancestors had done
repeatedly
in the
past: they adopted
the newest cultural forms
from those who
brought
them from abroad. (Needless to
say, this trait has continued as a constant
throughout Japanese history,
seen as
strongly
in the
Meiji transformation of
Japan
as it was
during
introduction of Buddhism and continental civilization in the 6th and
7th centuries.)
The
growth
of Buddhism and Buddhist art
during
the Asuka
period,
in
comparison
to the decades
considered in this
paper,
is
relatively
well documented. From the establishment of Asukadera, clan
temple
of the
Soga
in 588, through
the
building
of other clan
temples
in the
59os
and
early
6oos,
we
can follow
quite clearly
the
process whereby Buddhism became
inextricably linked with the
power
elite.74 But that is another
story. Here, we have been
searching
for those almost
imperceptible traces
that should shed a little
light
on the earliest
practice
of Buddhist icon
worship
in
Japan.
general use. Regrettably, a more recent effort, Sonoda Koya, "Early Buddha
Worship" in Delmer M. Brown (ed.), The
Cambridge History
ofAncientJapan,
vol.
I,
AncientJapan
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 359-414, is
not very satisfactory either. (It should be pointed out here that although the article is listed as by Sonoda, most of it
was actually prepared by the
volume's editor.)
72
David Freedberg, The Power of Images: Studies in the History and
Theory of Response (Chicago: University of
Chicago
Press, 1989).
73 Sakamoto
2, 102, note 3, and 18, note 9, provide an
exegesis on this
terminology.
74 The literature on establishment of Asukadera and its early icons is enormous. I am
investigating these issues in a study
tentatively entitled, "The Soga Clan and Early Buddhist Art in
Japan."
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APPENDIX
A
Standing
Bodhisattva in the
Tokyo National Museum
Earlier in this
paper
I made some brief comments about Konno Toshifumi's recent article, but here I
would like to consider in
greater
detail one
quite surprising
claim that he makes concerning
a stand-
ing
bodhisattva in the
Tokyo
National Museum
(figs.
18-19).75
The issue ofBukkyj geijutsu
where his
article
appears
has two color and three monochrome plates,
all
full-page views, at the front of the
jour-
nal, presumably
indicative of the
importance
of this
sculpture
to his
study.
As a color
photograph
of
the
image
had
appeared recently
in a Nara National Museum catalogue,
the
piece
was
quite familiar,
although
the latter source did not include views from all sides.76 Before
analyzing
Konno's claims, let
us look for a moment at the
sculpture.
The
figure
is a standing bodhisattva,
93.7
cm
tall, carved from a
single
block of
camphor wood,
except
for the hands, which were
joined separately (now lost). While there is
significant damage
to
the
image,
what remains is
adequate
to understand most details of the
original
form. In
very general
terms, initial
inspection
would
suggest
that the
image
is archaic in
style, incorporating
motifs that
can be seen in characteristic works of the Asuka
period.
Konno
(p. 73) cites as
comparative
works the
Yumedono Kannon, flanking figures
of the
Horyuji
Kondo Shaka Triad, the
Horyfiji
Museum bronze
standing
bodhisattva (56.7
cm
high),
and bodhisattvas nos. 165 and 166 in the
"Forty-eight"
at the
Tokyo
National Museum. Particularly important
are the sense of
frontality,
the
proportions,
and
arrangement
of the scarf. Seen from the back, the
sculpture
is schematic to an extreme, while in side
view it is extraordinarily slender, except
for the
large
head.
As Konno notes
(pp. 73-74)
there are a number of
puzzling
or interesting aspects
to the image,
including:
I.
Original
form of the crown.
2. Circular
plaques
at either shoulder.
75 In order to avoid an unwieldy number of notes, I will indicate pages
of Konno's paper
in
parentheses.
Konno's dis-
cussion of the Tokyo National Museum bodhisattva is essentially un-annotated: one of the two notes refers to the 1999
Tokyo National Museum sculpture catalogue, and then only in the context of image acquisition and the modern label
on its back. Apparently
it was purchased
from the Tokyo Art School by the Tokyo National Museum in
I892.
The
label reads: "At the period
of Shotoku Taishi this sculpture
came from
Paekche,
one image from [a set
of] I,ooo
images,"
which is obviously legendary, as is the claim that it came from Echigo. Although space
is not available to
trace the historiography
of this image here, it is interesting to note that it appeared
as the first plate
in Warner,
Suiko,
pp. 22, 53. Warner's
discussion is not very useful, and his general approach
to this period has been critiqued
in detail
in Alexander C. Soper, "Notes of Horyuji and the Sculpture of the Suiko Period," as noted above. I have written a crit-
ical assessment of Soper's study in an unpublished paper,
"Alexander Soper on the
H6ryfiji
Shaka Triad." Berthier,
"Les
premieres
statues,"
Io8-Io9,
also deals with the image.
76 Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, Higashi Ajia, pl. 24,
p.
238.
The short entry, written by Matsuura Masaaki, repeats
the belief that the image hails
from Echigo Province and argues that it has an extremely archaic style. He also sug-
gests that, because of the
"yaya
manobishita yo na
hyojo"
and simplication of the head area above the crown, it can be
closely related to small gilt-bronze images of the Three Kingdoms Silla. The phrase "rather manobishita appearing
facial expression"
is the same terminology analyzed
in note
3o
above.
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3. Large
sleeve-like forms over the arms.
4. The red
pigment
seen at the back.
5. The overall
style
of the
figure.
In
analyzing
these traits, Konno
presents
a
strikingly original hypothesis that, in
my view, does not
stand
up
to critical examination. If I understand his
arguments correctly,
he asserts that the
Tokyo
National Museum bodhisattva dates as
early
as the second half of the 6th
century.77
In addition he
relates its
iconography,
at least in
part,
to
imagery
on the bronze mirrors discussed in the first half of
his article
(pp.
71-73).
Fundamentally motivating
Konno's discourse is his desire to find a
sculpture
which
might plausibly
be related to the
lineage
embodied in the two
images
made for Yoshinodera
from the
floating camphor log (p. 73;
referred to above). In the article under consideration here and in
his other research, Konno
appears
convinced that there was a
syncretic phase
at the
inception
of Bud-
dhist
imagery
and
practice
in
Japan whereby
an
amalgamation
occurred of continental
religious
tra-
ditions, including
Buddhist and Taoist forms, with an
indigenous system
of
kami belief.78
Even the
most casual
reading
of this
study
should make clear
my opinion
that transmission of Buddhist
imagery
and
practice
from the Korean
peninsula
to the
Japanese
islands was
through
the mediation of cultur-
ally
advanced
"immigrants"
who transferred what
they
knew in the Three
Kingdoms
of the
peninsula
to the
equivalent (Three? Four?) kingdoms
of the
6th-century
islands. While I would be the last
per-
son to
deny
the occurrence
ofsyncretic
elements in
early religious practice
on the islands, I am firm in
the belief that the four monuments considered in detail above
betray
no
aspects
of
"syncreticism." So,
what about the
Tokyo National Museum statue
?
Konno
pays
a lot of attention to the form of the bodhisattva's crown, perhaps
not
surprisingly given
that its
exceedingly fragmentary
state of
preservation
allows unbridled
speculation.
While acknowl-
edging
the substantial
damage,
he asserts
(correctly)
that it is different from the standard mountain-
shaped
or
box-shaped
crown of the
early phase
and that the five
projections may
have
produced
some-
thing
like the ornamentation seen on the heads of the deities (shinsen) represented
on
early mirrors. He
further claims
(p. 74):
"... rather, this is a form close to the crowns of the
Japanese dogY (for example,
the mimizuku
dogf
from the
Akagi
site in Saitama Prefecture)."79 In actuality,
what the
Tokyo National
Museum
figure's
crown
presumably
resembled is the form studied above in the
Funagatayamajinji
bod-
hisattva and associated
pieces, namely
a
type
of floral ornamentation. Readers who
might
have doubts
77 Berthier, in the article just cited in note 75, also makes this claim, arguing that the figure is the earliest extant image
in
Japan (p.
Io9).
Matsumoto Eiichi, in "Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukanzo bosatsu ritsuzo," Kokka 800 (1958),
355-356, argues for a date at the end of the Asuka period.
78 Konno Toshifumi,
"Butsuz6
juyo no shu-goteki keiki to Asuka," Tetsugaku
Ioo
(1996),
151-183.
(This is the Keio Uni-
versity Mita Tetsugakukai journal.)
79 J. Edward Kidder, The Birth
ofdapanese
Art (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1966), pl. 5 and fig. 31. Mimizuku
refers to a horned owl. Normally, when traditional Japanese cultural expressions, from Kofun to Edo, are associated
with
J6mon
culture one can safely assume that rational analysis has ceased. This line of thought is seen in the writ-
ings of the architect, Tange Kenzo, and has been
developed
in recent decades by the Kyoto philosopher Umehara
Takeshi. Although beyond the
scope
of this article, a careful
explication of this current in
Japanese thought would
be highly desirable. (Professor Jonathan Reynolds called my attention to Tange's ideas concerning
a"J6mon
aes-
thetic.")
I83
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about this
suggestion
should look at the circular
plaques
on the shoulders of the
Funagatayamajinja
bodhisattva, for not
only
are
they essentially
the same as in the
Tokyo National Museum
piece,
but
the manner in which the tassels
hanging
down from the diadem fall over their front surfaces convinc-
ingly explains
the
fragmentary section at the front of
plaques
of the
Tokyo National Museum
figure.
Furthermore, we traced earlier the occurrences of
"X"-shaped jewelry strings descending from the
shoulder
plaques
to other continental and
peninsular images, noting
that this motif is
relatively
rare
in
early images ofJapan.80
But here it is evident that our two bodhisattvas are so close to each other in
this detail that
they
must have a common source. Because of its
greater size, which allows more detail,
the
Tokyo
National Museum
figure displays greater elaboration in the
jewelry strings,
but in all essen-
tial details these
strings
are identical in form and
placement
to those of the
Funagatayamajinji
bod-
hisattva. (The necklace in
plate
form is
basically
the same in each.)
Not
surprisingly,
the two
figures' drapery elements are also
very
close to each other. In both cases,
the backs are
essentially planar with no interior
detailing,
so we can limit our
analysis
to the front view.
An
oblique
line crosses the chest from the
upper
left toward the lower
right, indicating the
sogishi,
a
sort of vest. (I will comment in a moment on the
carving
of this line on the
Tokyo
National Museum
bodhisattva). The
arrangement of the scarf is
basically
the same in the two
pieces,
with both ends
descending
from the shoulders, looping
over the
legs
in an "X"
configuration (identically,
in that sec-
tion which
passes
over the left knee is beneath that
passing
over the
right knee), and then
hanging
down from the arms to the base with distinct fishtail folds.
Although
there is substantial
damage
in
this area on the
Tokyo
National Museum bodhisattva, one assumes that the fishtail folds of the Funa-
gatayamajinja
bodhisattva were
always sharper
and
spikier
in form. The one substantial difference
between the two
images
is the
presence
of the
emphatic sleeve-like element over the arms in the
Tokyo
National Museum
figure,
in a form
quite similar to that seen in the Yumedono Kannon," and differ-
ent from the more restrained treatment of this area in the
Funagatayamajinja
bodhisattva. Both
figures
show two hem-lines for the dhoti and under-robe at front. And
particularly important,
in
my view,
both have at the back a distinct
upward
arc at the lower hem, quite pronounced
in the
Funagataya-
majinja figure,
less so in the
Tokyo National Museum
piece.
The red
pigment
that Konno observes on the back of the
Tokyo National Museum bodhisattva
(p. 74) is
presumably
not
present
on the
Funagatayamajinji figure. Nor does this sort of
application
of colors seem
typical
of a
gilt-bronze
statue
except
for color for the
eyes, lips, etc. As a
symbol
of an
animating life force, red pigmentation is frequently observed throughout the world. In the case of the
Japanese islands, it appears on just the sort ofJomon figurine cited earlier by Konno, although in this
case he apparently hesitated about drawing a connection, perhaps because there is a more proximate
comparison with the Yumedono and Kudara Kannons.
80 The situation of the Sekiyamajinja Bodhisattva requires further study, but, if, as argued above, it is an
import from
the
peninsula,
it too would fit into this complex. Another example ofa related arrangement can be seen in bodhisattva
no. 166 in the
"Forty-eight Buddhist Deities" group.
81 This element, seen
very clearly
in the Yumedono Kannon and more ambiguously in the Tokyo National Museum
bodhisattva, requires
further study. However, since the Yumedono Kannon deserves separate and detailed treatment,
I will reserve a careful consideration of this interesting drapery form for another time, especially as it is methodolog-
ically inappropriate to
try to clarify a
configuration which appears to be illogically depicted.
184
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Enough
has
already
been said to make clear the close
relationship
in
style, motif, and
iconography
between the
Tokyo
National Museum
figure
and the
Funagatayamajinja
bodhisattva. Since I
argue
above that the latter was most
likely
a late
6th-century
work
brought
from the
peninsula
to the islands,
what is to
prevent
us from
giving
a
similarly early
date to the
Tokyo
National Museum bodhisattva?
Or, for that matter, the same
peninsular provenance?
These
questions
raise a number of difficult
prob-
lems that I will
try
to deal with as
briefly
as
possible.
I start off with the
assumption that, to use
George
Kubler's
terminology,82
the
Funagatayamajinja
figure
manifests the traits of a
"prime object"
associated with a
quite
coherent
category,
while the
Tokyo
National Museum bodhisattva is a
"replication"
derived in some manner from the
prime object
complex.
I make this assertion because, while all details of the
Funagatayamajinji
bodhisattva seem
to me to be
logical
in form, certain details of the
Tokyo National Museum
image
are
ambiguous,
even
perhaps
mistakes. Since it is a fundamental
premise
in the
study
of
stylistic
evolution that one does
not
proceed
from
ambiguity
and mistakes to
logical clarity,
it seems inconceivable that the
Tokyo
National Museum bodhisattva could stand as
any
sort of
"prime object;" rather, a number of features
suggests quite strongly
that its
sculptor
misunderstood certain details of whatever
image
served as
prototype.
For
example,
the
oblique
line
running
across the chest to delineate the
upper
hem of the
sigishi
is carved in a manner
contrary
to what one would
expect:
since the fabric must be
thought
of as
lying
on and above the surface of the chest, the line should indicate this, whereas in fact it shows the
flesh area as
being higher
than the fabric.
A detailed elucidation of the
Tokyo National Museum bodhisattva's scarf will
try
the
patience
of
all but the most
intrepid reader, so I
suggest
those who feel
impatient might
want to
skip
the follow-
ing
two
paragraphs
and
accept
on faith that there are
ambiguous aspects
to the scarf. In a number of
publications
I have tried to
explain
the
configuration
of the Bodhisattva's scarf (tenne), although
I fre-
quently despair
that
my explications
are ineffective since
people
refer
again
and
again
to scarves, in the
plural.83
There is
always only
one scarf element, a
very long strip
of fabric that
passes
over the back,
around the shoulders, and descends in various
arrangements
to the base. For
purposes
of this
analysis,
we need consider
only
the
arrangement
where both ends of the scarf cross over the
legs
in an
"X" pat-
tern, then
loop
back
up
over the arms and
finally
fall to the base.
In the case of the
Tokyo National Museum
figure, nothing
can be said about how the scarf crosses
over the back. This
important
issue is uncertain due to the schematization in this area. Yet there is one
important
detail that can still be made out at the back: the
"sleeve"
elements flare
out broadly at both
sides, but sharply cut grooves at the inner edges clearly distinguish "sleeve" from the narrow scarf sec-
tions. These hang down straight to the base, apparently passing behind the elbows. This is illogical,
since the ends should be shown moving to the front of the body before crossing the knees and looping
back up over the opposite arm prior to descending in fishtail folds to the base. The faulty arrangement
is further seen where the two sections of the "X" crossing seem to disappear under the belt instead of
82 George Kubler, The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things (New Haven and London: Yale
University Press,
I962).
83 Donald F. McCallum, "The Evolution of the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures in Japanese Sculpture of the Ninth and
Tenth
Centuries",
Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1973 (University Microfilms, No. 73-19, 944):
19-I20zo;
idem., "Heian Sculpture at the Tokyo National Museum," Part
I,
Artibus Asiae 35, no. 3
(I973), 287.
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progressing
in a normal manner; all of these details
suggest
that the
sculptor
did not
really
understand
the
appropriate configuration
and thus made
"mistakes."84
As noted above, neither
figure
under consideration shows
any
internal articulation at the back, so
we cannot
gain any
useful information
by inspecting
this area. Konno
(p. 73) suggests
that the
Tokyo
National Museum
figure originally
held its hands in front, grasping
a
jewel. But, as we have seen, the
jewel-grasping
motif seems always
to be associated with a distinct "U"
loop
of the scarf at the back,
as seen
clearly
in the Yumedono Kannon, the
Hory-iji
Museum Kannon, and in Bodhisattvas nos. 165
and 166 of the
"Forty-eight,"
to cite
only
those works Konno himself uses for
comparative purposes.85
Consequently,
I believe it more
likely
that the
Tokyo National Museum Bodhisattva was not a
jewel-
grasper;
otherwise the
sculptor
should have included the crucial "U"
loop
at back. Of course, there is
always
the
possibility
that the
sculptor
did not understand the
significance
of the "U"
loop
in a
hypo-
thetical
prototype
and thus excluded it, a line of
thought
which does not contradict a
theory
to be
pre-
sented in a moment.
The form of the two arms is
extremely peculiar, consisting
of horizontal tubes that do not
appear
organically
connected with the
upper part
of the arm, almost as if the
sculptor
could not determine
how to carve them. Other
parts
of the
body
also
display
a
degree
of awkwardness in
conception, again
arguing
for a
quite
modest level of skill.
Perhaps
most
surprising
is the treatment of the face. To the
best of
my knowledge,
is it
quite
unlike
any
other face in the
sculpture ofJapan.
While I have no
very
satisfactory explanation
for its form and
expression,
it seems as if our
sculptor
was
doing
his best to
copy
the model he had before him.86
What is the date and
provenance
of this
sculpture?
I
hope
I have
convincingly
demonstrated that
it is based on the
complex
of elements best seen in the
Funagatayamajinja bodhisattva, a
piece pre-
sumably
from the Korean
peninsula
made in the later sixth century.
While the
Tokyo
National
Museum
sculpture
is
clearly
derived from such a
prototype,
there are so
many misunderstandings
of
the
original configuration
that one must assume that it is a later
copy;
how much later is difficult to
say, although
it
probably
dates to
approximately
the middle of the 7th century
since this sort of
imagery
84 Donald F. McCallum, "Buddhist Sculpture at the Seisuiji, Matsushiro," Oriental Art N.S. 25, no. 4 (1979/80), 466,
where I refer to the peculiar
situation of the
"sash" (jjhaku) represented
at the back of a Kannon figure, but not at the
front. I have presented
a detailed analysis
of the
"mistakes"
issue in "Hakuho Sculpture,"
a monograph
to be pub-
lished by the University of Kansas.
85 The studies by Lena Kim, cited in note
61
above, present
a brilliant analysis of combining the jewel-grasping
hand
position
with the prominent
"U" loop arrangement of the scarf at the back, which substitutes for the more normal
horizontal configuration
that often looks rather like a shawl. Since its presence
or absence on the Tokyo National
Museum bodhisattva is unclear, the broader issue (the significance of this combination of elements) is not relevant
here.
86 Among the gilt-bronze
bodhisattvas in the "Forty-eight
Buddhist Deities" group, nos. 165 and 166 seem closest to
our image in terms of facial features. Both, in my view, represent very late or post-Asuka versions of the Soga-Tori
bodhisattva. Bodhisattva no. 165, as mentioned in note 64 above, is probably
dated to 651, and bodhisattva no. 166 is
perhaps
even a little later. Significantly,
the latter also has the
"X" jewelry string crossing the front of the body,
although the lower section passes under the scarf rather than over it, as in our piece. Perhaps also significant is the fact
that both nos. 165 and
166 have the jewel-grasping/"U" loop at back scarf although, as noted above, there is no evi-
dence for these traits in the Tokyo National Museum bodhisattva. Nevertheless, those relations that can be seen with
nos.
I65-I66
would tend to pull
it up
toward the middle of the 7th century, rather than a 6th century date.
186
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was not
popular
much after that time. Where it was made and
by whom it was carved are uncertain;
I would
suggest
that it was made outside the central area
by
a craftsman who did not have
any
exten-
sive
experience
in
making
Buddhist
imagery.87
87 Although
the
entry
in the Nara National Museum catalogue relates the image to Three Kingdoms sculpture, Matsu-
ura
argues that, since the material is
camphor wood, it should be considered as an
example of"Asuka
Sculpture," made
in
Japan. Nevertheless, as Matsuura
apparently accepts the Echigo provenance, he places it in a
sphere extending from
Niigata (Sekiyamajinja bodhisattva, our fig. 17) to Nagano (Kanshoin meditating bodhisattva, our fig. 9) that he asso-
ciates with an
"immigrant Buddhist culture route."
Obviously, I have no problems with this general hypothesis, since
I believe the
Tokyo
National Museum figures resembles most closely the
Funagatayamajinja bodhisattva. Some years
ago
I
explored
this
topic
in a
paper entitled, "East
Sea/Japan Sea: A Neglected Area for Early Korean-Japanese Rela-
tions in Buddhist
Sculpture," Annual
Meeting, Association for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., 25 March
1984.
GLOSSARY
Amaterasu Omikami
,Hf
$
Amida Puq frL
Asai Kazuharu
?-
1
I
Asuka
RA•
Asukadera
MA,•
--
Bidatsu
tenno
0
•.
Bukkyo geijutsu
fAA'
Chinhing, King
A
Chinp'ying, King
ZT
Chinu
$2-
Chizawa
Teiji
:Fi
fAJ
Dainichibo
-kE }
Dogu ia
D6ji
M_
Fujisawa Kazuo
.•)--
Funagatayamajinja
•
J.I
$R ?
Gangoji engi
t. .
Gokurakuji
,-
Hakuho
6
R
hanka shii ]
•'
Hirano Kunio
,Z
Hongo Masatsugu ~z 8
Horyoji
Ri$
HwangSuy ng
i
7"p
Ienaga
Saburo
7,_K
Ikebe no Atai on
Inoue Kaoru
_L, Inoue Mitsusada
5i
. Izumi
kori
7%g?
Joga
Shotoku hoo
teisetsu
i •{tW
I
johaku kr
Jomon $43•
Jorinjoin.--
Kafuka no omi
Kami $$
Kannon
•:
Kanshoin $
'•
Kawachi lI
kikajin
J-4
LA,
Kim Rina (Lena Kim)
Kinmei tenno
,H
Kofun $
Kogury6
-
i49
Kondo
Konno Toshifumi
W•
lVVV,
Kongju
/L#I]
Koyaji $
,
Kudara Kannon
-
.
Kumagai Nobuo
ft'
-
Kuno Takeshi
. Kunsuri
,p_
Kyuamni ria
.
Liang
MaekawaAkihisa
HljjllHj-?
manobishita kao
ril_•"
LPzM?
Matsubara
Saburo
-
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