honjou-zu　本生図

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Lit. Illustrations of original lives. The original lives; honjou 本生 or honshou, or former lives of the historical Buddha *Shaka 釈迦, which constitute the subject matter of a genre of Buddhist literature known as honjoutan 本生譚 also read honshoutan (Sk:jataka) or tales of original lives. The jataka stories as transmitted in the Pali Canon today number 547, and similar tales are also found in the closely related branch of Buddhist literature called avadana (Jp:hiyu 譬喩) or allegorical tales. These tales, which are generally based on stories that were current in India at the time of the Buddha's earthly existence, have their origin in the belief that Shaka's enlightenment would not have been possible for an ordinary human being, but was the result of various practices performed in his past lives. The enormous popularity of these tales is attested to by the fact that they provided the subject matter for some of the earliest productions of Indian art, and they have remained favourite topics for sculpture and paintings throughout the centuries in all Buddhist countries. Examples of such honjou-zu are found in India at Bharhut and Sanci (2c BC), Amaravati (2c), and later in the caves of Ajanta; in the murals of Kizil and Dunhuang (Jp:Tonkou 敦煌) in Central Asia; in the bas-reliefs of temples at Borobudur in Java (9c), Pagan in Burma (13c), and Sukhothai in Thailand (14c); and in the caves at Longmen (Jp:Ryuumon 龍門) in China. There are, however, relatively few examples in Japan: the most famous are the two scenes from Shaka's past lives depicted on the pedestal of a household shrine dating from the mid 7c known as the *Tamamushi no zushi 玉虫厨子 and preserved at Houryuuji 法隆寺. One of these panels shows the story in which Prince Mahasattva shows his courage and selflessness by sacrificing his life to a tigress and her starving cubs: the second shows the legend of a young ascetic who willingly forfeits his life in exchange for information about the truth of human existence. The first part of the Illustrated Scripture of Cause and Effect *e-ingakyou 絵因果経 is also included in this genre.

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*butsuden-zu 仏伝図

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