Sanskrit Beyond Text: The Use of Bonji (Siddham) in Mandala
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| Kamakura Bukkyō. Tōkyō: Shinchōsha, vol. 4, 1988.
277 At this level of understanding, the shūji can refer to even the efficacious mantra of the deity. www.manaraa.com 93 accepted as part and parcel of an imported Buddhist visual culture that included, but was not limited to, Sanskrit as a foreign element. Mere centuries later, the foreign associations, assimilated in large part into Buddhist praxis, carried by Sanskrit within works illustrating combinatory practices such as the Nezu Kasuga mandara continued to function at a multivalent level of language and image with non-native connotations yet within increasingly localized (Shinto) visual culture. Within the works I have addressed in this thesis there is room for future research that could lead to a greater understanding of the complex use of Sanskrit in visual culture. 278 Additionally, further research on the many other objects containing Sanskrit, such as reliquaries 279 and ritual tools, could provide insight into Sanskrit as a living albeit strictly visual and ritual system of symbols in Japan (still a “language” in a visual way). Additionally, studying extreme anomalies in the use of Sanskrit will prove extremely beneficial. One such anomaly is the use of Sanskrit on warrior’s swords (for example, figure 28). These swords are so far the only historical example I have found of Sanskrit in secular use. 280 A careful study of these swords and the many other objects incorporating Sanskrit may assist in further clarifying how Sanskrit functioned in Japanese society. Further, such study would begin to identify why the multivalent power of the Sanskrit letter, while seen also by the non-ordained though generally still in a religious context, was used on this weapon but not on other objects outside a sacred or ritual context. 278 I have indicated some of these areas throughout the thesis, but there are certainly more. 279 Particularly interesting is that Sanskrit was used on Mikkyō reliquaries, but also began to be used in Shinto reliquaries. Figure 27 is one example of a Shinto reliquary that uses a ryōbu hō mandara. This work is a great object to address in future projects. 280 The samurai culture developed a relationship with shrines, especially as swordsmithing took on a sacred aspect that required rites of purification and abstinence before forging a blade. As Shinto priests wear white clothing, the swordsmith was also required to wear white. Each sword was “thought to take on its own spiritual life; success or failure in battle was attributed to the spirit of the sword.” (Stanley-Baker, Joan. Japanese art. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1984, p. 106). The inclusion of Sanskrit as a horimono (彫物, engraving or carving) on the blade is likely related in part to conferring efficacy unto the “spirit of the sword.” |