Butchou　仏頂

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Also Butchouson 仏頂尊. Sk: Usnisa. Lit. Buddha-Crown. A class of Esoteric Buddhist deities generally believed to be personifications of the protuberance on the crown of the Buddha's head, one of the 32 distinguishing marks of a Buddha *sanjuunisou 三十二相. Strictly speaking, these deities are personifications of dharanis (Jp: darani 陀羅尼) or mystic formulae believed to embody the power of the light rays emitted from the crown of the Buddha's head, and because these dharanis were considered to be especially efficacious for purifying evil karma and liberating people from hell, the cult of the Butchou is associated especially with rites for the dead. The Butchou usually assume the form of bodhisattvas *bosatsu 菩薩, and there are both male and female Butchou. A number of different Butchou are mentioned in Buddhist texts, often in groups. 1) Three Butchou, sanbutchou 三仏頂, which are: Koudai Butchou 広大仏頂 (Sk:Mahodgatosnisa), Gokukoudai Butchou 極広大仏頂 (Sk: Abhyudgatosnisa), and Muhen-onjou Butchou 無辺音声仏頂 (Sk: Anantasvaraghosa). 2) Five Butchou, gobutchou 五仏頂, which are: Byakusangai Butchou 白傘蓋仏頂 (Sk: Sitatapatrosnisa), Shoubutchou 勝仏頂 (Sk: Jayosnisa), Saishou Butchou 最勝仏頂 (Sk: Vijayosnisa), Kouju Butchou 光聚仏頂 (Sk: Tejorasyusnisa), and Shajo Butchou 捨除仏頂 (Sk: Vikiranosnisa). 3) Eight Butchou, hachibutchou 八仏頂, which are: Three Butchou and Five Butchou which together appear, for example, in the Shaka-in 釈迦院 of the *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 and in the *Sonshou mandara 尊勝曼荼羅. 4) Nine Butchou, kubutchou 九仏頂, which are: Eight Butchou encircling Daibutchou 大仏頂 or Shouissai Butchou 摂一切仏頂, as in the Daibutchou mandara 大仏頂曼荼羅. 5) Ten Butchou, juubutchou 十仏頂, which are: Nine Butchou and Futsuu Butchou 普通仏頂. The same Butchou may, however, be known by various names, and different enumerations of Eight, Nine, and Ten Butchou are also mentioned. Another important Butchou is Shijoukou Butchou 熾盛光仏頂, and some Butchou became the object of popular individual cults, e.g., Butchou Sonshou 仏頂尊勝 (Sk: Vijayosnisa) and Byakusangai 白傘蓋 (Sk: Sitatapatra), both popular goddesses in Indo-Tibetan Tantrism, and *Ichijikinrin 一字金輪.

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