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Siddham (Jp.:
shittan
悉曇
) is a written form of Sanskrit that was used in North India
from circa 600 to 1200 CE and spread throughout Asia via Buddhism.
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From Kūkai’s
importation of both textual and non-textual Chinese objects with Sanskrit—which were
subsequently copied—this practice spread during the following centuries until Sanskrit
could be
found on a variety of forms. Objects with Sanskrit
are many and extant examples include, but
are not limited to, texts such as sutras, commentaries,
and written mantra; ritual implements such
as bell and vajra; two-dimensional images such as various types of mandala,
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religious
landscapes, and those used for the rite known as
a-ji kan (
阿字観
, the rite of meditating on the
Sanskrit character A); on or inside three-dimensional forms such as sculptures, reliquaries, and
gorintō (
五輪塔
, death memorials or gravestones in a “five elements” form shaped like a
pagoda); and eventually the secular swords of warriors.
As noted above, the foci of this thesis are the Sanskrit letter
hō mandara and the
topographic landscape shrine mandala, or
miya mandara. The deities in the
hō mandara (also
called a
shūji mandara,
種字曼荼羅
) are shown in their “seed-syllable” or
shūji (Skt.:
bija) form.
Shūji (also given as [short “u”]
shuji) are Sanskrit characters that are alternately the embodiment
of the
honzon (
本尊
, primary deity) or
the mantra of that deity, depending on how the character is
presented.
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In order to provide a base of reference for the study of the
hō mandara within the
hierarchy of ritual and Sanskrit education in Buddhism, in Chapter One I will briefly discuss
imagery used in and related to the
a-ji kan rite before beginning the study of the mandalas. This
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Sanskrit characters are often called
bonji (
梵字
) in Japanese as well—a term basically meaning characters of the
Sanskrit language (Jp.:
bongo, 梵語). Shittan is a term that refers to this specific form of Sanskrit writing (Siddham).
For convenience, I will simply call these characters Sanskrit throughout this thesis.
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When referencing titles or specific types of mandala in Japanese art (for example, the
hō mandara), I will use the
Japanese term
mandara. Outside of that, I will use the Sanskrit word mandala that is commonly found within the
English language.
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Although sometimes these identifications are ambiguous and context will aid in discerning how the Sanskrit
character functions semiotically—as will be illustrated at points throughout the thesis.
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chapter will also present a brief history of the transmission and study of Sanskrit from China to
Japan.
In Chapter Two, the
hō mandara is discussed. In relation to my thesis, the use of the term
hō mandara refers to a pair of mandala also called
ryōbu mandara (
両部曼荼羅
, Dual
Mandala).
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This set of mandala depicts the Buddhist cosmos by organizing deities visually in a
geometric composition. Originally a religious monastic image that found its way into the
worship practices of the elite, it was re-appropriated by the monastic community for ritual use by
ordained monks seeking to become masters of Sanskrit.
In
contrast, the purpose of the image type in Chapter Three, the
miya mandara, was very
different. These
mandara focus on Shinto locations and
kami, but they can also incorporate
overtly Buddhist elements—for example, Buddhist deities or Buddhist Pure Lands coexistent
with or transposed onto sacred Shinto sites. Miya mandara are Japanese forms of a “mandala,”
the concept (but not the original Buddhist visual form) of which was localized: they are
devotional paintings that depict landscapes of shrines or temples, often in a map-like manner,
showing topography, pilgrimage paths, and deities. Scholars therefore link this genre with the
diffusion of esoteric elements of Buddhism—a mandalization of Japan’s geography—as well as
the increasing popularity of pilgrimage.
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As will be explored in
Chapter Three, the occurrence
of Sanskrit in some
miya mandara is further indication of esoteric diffusion and the evolving
function of Sanskrit in visual culture, Buddhist and otherwise. In discussing the
hō mandara and
the
miya mandara individually and
in relation to one another, throughout this thesis I will
address topics such as semiotics and the nature of the sign in visual objects with Sanskrit, the
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The
hō mandara is one of the four types of mandala described by Kūkai, which will be discussed further in this
thesis. This mandala is the mandala form that uses Sanskrit characters to depict the deity rather than
anthropomorphic figures—in this way, a
hō mandara can be any type of mandala with the deity in Sanskrit form. As
ryōbu mandara with Sanskrit characters instead of anthropomorphic figures or symbols are also widely called
hō
mandara, I will use this term throughout the thesis in reference to this type of work.
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A very accessible brief description of this can be found in Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis’
Japanese Mandalas:
Representations of Sacred Geography. Her bibliography also provides other sources for further reference.
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role of the visual in doctrine and praxis, and Buddhism’s integration with indigenous culture by
means of Shinto combinatory practices. Changes in the forms and functions of Sanskrit objects
will be identified from a close study of the two mandala types.
An examination of the
hō mandara and the
miya mandara demonstrates the diffusion of
Sanskrit from objects used and promoted by Mikkyō monks to objects in
other areas of religion,
including images that may have legitimized the presence of Buddhism in Japan as the original
“face” of indigenous Shinto
kami. This diffusion was so expansive that Sanskrit appeared even
on the swords of warriors. This thesis discusses only the trajectory of Sanskrit in relation to the
comparison between these two religious mandalas, but in so doing it will clarify areas for further
study and supply the groundwork for the study of secular works with Sanskrit.
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