#crazyfoxarchives

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of the wrathful deity Kongō Yasha Myōō (金剛夜叉明王) dating to the 9th century at the Lecture Hall of Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from "東寺の明王像" [Images of Myōō at Tōji] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1993, page 27

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A painted example of the Fuji Mandara (富士曼荼羅), a mandala depicting the sacred landscape of Mount Fuji populated with earnest pilgrims making their way to the peaks above inhabited by three manifesting Buddhist deities

Color on silk dating to the Muromachi period (1336-1573) from the collection of Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha Grand Shrine (富士山本宮浅間大社) in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture

Image from "Shintō: The Sacred Art of Ancient Japan" edited by Victor Harris, published by the British Museum Press. 2001, page 181

[crazyfox-archives]

"Portrait of Empress Kōmyō" (光明皇后像) by Kobori Tomoto (小堀鞆音), 1920's, illustrating the scene in which the Empress (701-760) administers a medicinal bath to a leper (actually a divine bodhisattva in disguise) according to her vow at the temple bathhouse she established.

"Retrato de la emperatriz Kōmyō" (光明皇后像) de Kobori Tomoto (小堀鞆音), años 20, que ilustra la escena en la que la emperatriz (701-760) administra un baño medicinal a un leproso (en realidad un bodhisattva divino disfrazado) según su voto en la casa de baños del templo que ella estableció

Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk from the collection of Hokkeji Temple (法華寺) in Nara

Image from "Amamonzeki: A Hidden Heritage: Treasures of the Japanese Imperial Convents" published by the Sankei Shimbun, 2009, page 52

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of the wrathful deity Gōsanze Myōō (降三世明王) dating to the 9th century at the Lecture Hall of Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from "東寺の明王像" [Images of Myōō at Tōji] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1993, page 21

[crazyfox-archives]

A painted image of the wrathful deity Gundari Myōō (軍荼利明王) dating to the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at Kōmyōin Temple (光明院) on Mount Kōya (高野山) in Wakayama Prefecture

Image from "高野山の明王像 / The Figures of Myōō (Vidyārājas) at Kōyasan" published by the Kōyasan Reihōkan Museum (高野山霊宝館) on Mount Kōya in 1993, page 25

[crazyfox-archives]

A clay figurine dating to the Middle Jōmon period (2500 BC to 1500 BC) excavated at the Sakaue Site in Nagano Prefecture and currently in the collection of the Idojiri Archaeological Museum (井戸尻考古館) in Fujimi, Nagano Prefecture

Image from "Shintō: The Sacred Art of Ancient Japan" edited by Victor Harris, published by the British Museum Press. 2001, page 80

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of the cosmic buddha Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来) dating to 1176 by the Buddhist artist Unkei (運慶) at Enjōji Temple (円成寺) in Nara

Image from "運慶と鎌倉彫刻 (日本の美術12)" [Unkei and Kamakura Sculpture (The Arts of Japan 12] by 水野敬三郎 [Mizuno Keisaburō], published by 小学館 [Shōgakukan], 1972, color plate 15

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of the Buddhist guardian deity Jikokuten (持国天) dating to the Heian period (794-1185) at the Lecture Hall of Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from “東寺の天部像” [Tōji no Tenbuzō], published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1993, page 16

[crazyfox-archives]

A hanging scroll of the Kasuga Miya Mandara (春日宮曼荼羅), a mandala depicting the Buddhist deities manifesting as the local Kasuga deities at Kasuga Taisha Shrine (春日大社) in Nara, the sacred grounds of which are visible below

Color on silk dating to the 14th century from the collection of the Seikadō Bunko Art Museum (静嘉堂文庫美術館) in Tokyo

Image from "Shintō: The Sacred Art of Ancient Japan" edited by Victor Harris, published by the British Museum Press. 2001, page 167

[crazyfox-archives]

A copy of the Taizōkai Mandara (胎蔵界曼荼羅), the Matrix World Mandala depicting hosts of buddhas, bodhisattvas, wrathful wisdom kings, and assorted other divinities & supernatural beings radiating from the cosmic buddha Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来) in the center, here all represented by their Sanskrit seed syllables in Siddhaṃ script

Hanging scroll dating to 1754 at Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from "東寺の曼荼羅図: みほとけの群像" [Illustrated Mandalas at Tōji: Group Images of Buddhist Divinities] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1992, page 75

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of Jizō Bodhisattva (地蔵菩薩) dating to the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto, possibly entrusted here from a temple closed down during the turmoil of the early Meiji years during the 1860's and 1870's

Image from "東寺の菩薩像" [Images of Bodhisattvas at Tōji] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1993, page 35

[crazyfox-archives]

A painted image of a group of goblinesque deities along with one youthful boy deity holding a jewel, all populating a mountainous landscape surrounded by waves

One decorated panel of an inner and outer set of boxes known as the Kasuga Dragon Jewel Boxes dating to the 14th century, currently in the collection of the Nara National Museum

Image from "Shintō: The Sacred Art of Ancient Japan" edited by Victor Harris, published by the British Museum Press. 2001, page 217

[crazyfox-archives]

A painted illustration of the Tamatare-gū Engi (玉垂宮縁起), a medieval origin story of the shrine multiple episodes of which can be seen here with a cast of characters including Buddhist and local deities as well as historical and semi-historical figures

Color on silk dating to 1370 from the collection of Daizenji Tamatare-gū Shrine (大善寺玉垂宮) in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture

Image from "Shintō: The Sacred Art of Ancient Japan" edited by Victor Harris, published by the British Museum Press. 2001, page 185

[crazyfox-archives]

An 1166 manuscript copy of The Karazu (火羅図), an illustrated astrological text with Monju Bodhisattva (文殊菩薩) in the center surrounded by the Nine Planets all below the Seven Stars of Ursa Major

From the collection of Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from "東寺の曼荼羅図: みほとけの群像" [Illustrated Mandalas at Tōji: Group Images of Buddhist Divinities] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1992, page 76

[crazyfox-archives]

A painted image of the wrathful deity Daiitoku Myōō (大威徳明王) dating to the Muromachi period (1336-1573) at Tōji Temple (東寺) in Kyoto

Image from "東寺の明王像" [Images of Myōō at Tōji] published by 東寺宝物館 [Tōji Treasure Museum], 1993, page 58

[crazyfox-archives]

The cosmic buddha Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来) by the artist Kimura Buzan (木村武山), 1935, at Kongōbuji Temple (金剛峯寺) on Mount Kōya (高野山) in Wakayama Prefecture

Image from "Sacred Treasures of Mount Kōya: The Art of Japanese Shingon Buddhism" published by the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2002, page 70