Dainichi　大日

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Lit. Great Sun. Translation of the Sk. Mahavairocana "(Great) Illuminating One"; also translated as (Dai)Henjou (大)遍照 "(Great) Universally Illuminating One" or transliterated as (Maka)Birushana (摩訶)昆盧遮那. The central and supreme deity of the pantheon of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教. In origin he has been linked to an ancient sun cult and to the Zoroastrian god of light, Ahura Mazda, and in Bradmanical literature the appelation Vairocana appears, for example, as the name of a legendary king and of the king of the asuras *Ashura 阿修羅. In Buddhism he assumes a central role in the KEGONKYOU 華厳経 (Sk: Avatamsaka-sutra; see *Rushanabutsu 盧舎那仏) , and then with the development of Esoteric Buddhism he eventually took the place of *Shaka 釈迦 as expositor of the Buddhist teachings, becoming the central figure in the Esoteric Buddhist pantheon as represented by the Womb World Mandala *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 and *Kongoukai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅. In Japan Dainichi also figures among the so-called Thirteen Buddhas *juusanbutsu 十三仏, presiding over the memorial service held on the 12th anniversary of a person's death. Dainichi differs icongraphically from other Buddhas in that he is represented in the form of bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩, seated, wearing silk robes and accessories such as armlets and bracelets, and having long locks of hair. He also wears a five-wisdom bejewelled crown *gochi houkan 五智宝冠 on his head, symbolizing his identity with the Five Buddhas gobutsu 五仏 and the five wisdoms attributed to them *gochi nyorai 五智如来, and he may be identified by his distinctive hand-gestures: in the Taizoukai mandara he forms the concentration seal of the Dharma-realm *hokkai jouin 法界定印, with both hands lying on his lap, right on top of left, palms upward and thumbs touching, while in the Kongoukai mandara he forms the seal of the knowledge fist *chiken-in 智拳印, with the clenched right hand posed over the extended index finger of the otherwise clenched left hand. He is generally colored white, and his distinctive animal vehicle *choujuuza 鳥獣座 is the lion; his standard seed-syllable, shuji 種子 in the Taizoukai mandara is '栄' (Jp: aku 惡) and in the Kongoukai mandara 'vam' ban 鑁, and his symbol, sanmayagyou 三昧耶形 is a stura *tou 塔. Owing to the strength of the Shingon 真言 sect during the Heian period , there are many fine examples of images of Dainichi dating from this period, and in many cases he is found enshired in a stura (often the type known as a *tahoutou 多宝塔), either alone or as the central figure of a pentad consisting of the five Buddhas; images according with his features in the Kongoukai mandara are found to predomiate.

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