ETHAS 064310

Japon mandala de Taima, version de Dokutan

Back to results
064310
Taima Mandala
Taima mandara當麻曼荼羅
Japan, Kyōto, Tōzenji temple 等善寺
1691 (Genroku era 元禄 , 4)
Paint on paper
Gift of Professor Inagaki Hisao 稲垣久雄 in 2007
Former collection of the Australian poet Harold F. Stewart (1916-1995)
Reproduction of a famous 8th century tapestry depicting the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, as described in the Contemplations Sūtra , and kept in the Taimadera temple (Nara department). There are several versions; this one was done by the Chinese monk Dudang Xingying 獨湛性螢 (Jap. Dokutan Shōkei, 1628-1706), 4th abbot of the Manpukuji in Uji, the mother temple of the Ōbaku school of Japanese Zen.

The image above is subject to copyright.
Copyrights for Photographic Reproduction

Ressources

Multimedia

Japanese Buddhist iconography

Buddhism passed from China to Japan in the 6th century. There it was particularly influenced by its esoteric form (Tantrism). This form uses rituals to a large number of beings who incarnate various degrees of enlightenment: buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods and goddesses, “kings of science” and others. Tantric Buddhism is represented by the Shingon and Tendai schools. They specialised in iconography in order to codify the colours, postures and gestures of the various personages used not only in the rituals but as an aid to meditation.

The great Amida (<i>Daibutsu</i>) Buddha of Kamakura, <i>Views and Customs of Japan</i>, by Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870.

The great Amida (Daibutsu) Buddha of Kamakura, Views and Customs of Japan, by Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870. Alfred Bertrand collection © MEG Inv. ETHPH 411954

© 2021 Musée d'ethnographie, Genève