besson mandara　別尊曼荼羅

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

A variety of mandala *mandara 曼荼羅, of a relatively small scale and centered on one particular deity, besson 別尊; it is contrasted with the toe mandara 都会曼荼羅 or tobu mandara 都部曼荼羅, which depicts deities from all 'divisions' or 'families', bu 部, and the bue mandara 部会曼荼羅 or betsubu mandara 別部曼荼羅, which depicts deities belonging to a single family. Varieties of toe mandara other than the *Ryoukai mandara 両界曼荼羅 include the fushuue mandara 普集会曼荼羅 described in the DARANI JIKKYOU 陀羅尼集経 (Taishou No. 901) and the koudaigedatsu dai mandara 広大解脱大曼荼羅 described in the FUKUUKENJAKU JINPEN SHINGONKYOU 不空羂索神変真言経 (Taishou No. 1092), and the bue mandara also exists on a theoretical level; however, because there are few actual examples of these types of mandara, all mandara other than the Ryoukai mandara may, artistically speaking, be regarded as varieties of besson mandara. Besson mandara are classified according to the central deity into the Buddha family, butsubu 仏部; Buddha-crown family *Butchou 仏頂; sutra-rite division, kyouboubu 経法部; Kannon family *Kannon 観音; bodhisattva family *bosatsu 菩薩; myouou family *myouou 明王; and family of gods and others *ten 天. A typical besson mandara of the Buddha family is the *Butsugen mandara 仏眼曼荼羅; typical examples of the Buddha-crown family is the *Ichijikinrin mandara 一字金輪曼荼羅 and *Sonshou mandara 尊勝曼荼羅; typical examples of the sutra-rite division is the *Hokke mandara 法華曼荼羅, Ninnougyou mandara 仁王経曼荼羅, and *shouugyou mandara 請雨経曼荼羅; a typical example of the Kannon family is the Nyoirin mandara 如意輪曼荼羅; typical examples of the bodhisattva family are the Miroku mandara 弥勒曼荼羅 and Hachiji monju mandara 八字文殊曼荼羅; typical examples of the myouou family are the *Aizen mandara 愛染曼荼羅 and *Anchin mandara 安鎮曼荼羅; and typical examples of the family of gods, etc are the *Enmaten mandara 焔魔天曼荼羅 and *Kichijouten mandara 吉祥天曼荼羅. The *hoshi mandara 星曼荼羅, which originated in the worship of heavenly bodies, is generally classified as belonging to the family of gods, etc., but because it was often used in rites for averting natural disasters, it sometimes constitutes a separate division called the constellatory division *seishuku 星宿. In Japan, many besson mandara were produced during the Heian period in conjunction with the upsurge in popularity of esoteric rites dedicated to particular deities, bessonhou 別尊法, and among the extant examples those that have been designated important cultural properties alone number more than 50. Whereas there is a strong tendency in the case of the Ryoukai mandara to adhere to the traditional iconography of India and China, the besson mandara strongly reflect elements deriving from popular cults, as well as the originality of the monks who conceived of them, even though they are based on scriptures and ritual manuals originating in India and China. They may be regarded as constituting a genre of art in Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教 that underwent unique developments in Japan.

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