Essay name: Buddhist iconography in and outside India (Study)
Author:
Purabi Gangopadhyay
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This work aims to systematically present the development and expansion of Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist iconography from India to other countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan. This study includes a historical account of Indian Buddhist iconography and the integration of Brahmanical gods into the Mahayana-Vajrayana phase.
Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Iconography (a Comparative Study)
91 (of 101)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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175
of this deity. In one of the representations in the
Sanjusangendo in the Renge-o-in temple, the deity is in the
posture of just' speeding away'. The realistic treatment of
the deity is remarkable.
In Japan V膩yu is a prominent member of J奴ni-ten
group and he became very much popular during the Heian and
Kamakura periods. In a remarkable representation in the
Jing玫-ji temple, Kyoto, the god is represented as one of the
members of the Juni-ten group. In this sculpture Hu-ten is
gorgeously dressed and the deity stands on a round pedestal.
He holds a spear in his right hand. His face is bearded and
it is slightly turned towards his left. He wears a crown
like ornament which looks like the wings of a bird. The
edges of his crown-like ornaments are curved and directed
upwards. The flame-like object around the halo that appears to
bind his head, his longish beard and some part of his garment,
appear to be "drifted by the blowing wind symbolizing the
attribute of the wind-god.* (Pl.xxx,Fig.1.1.
Yama or Emma-ten
is
Yama or Emma or Emma-ten, the Judge of Hell in
Japanese Buddhism is another prominent deity in Japan.
According to the Brahmanical tradition Yama the guardian
of the soul. The Visnudharmottara gives an elaborate des-
cription of the four-armed god' seated on a buffalo with his
1. HDIJBP, p. 66,
