houra　法螺

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Also read hora. Also written 宝螺. Also sometimes called ra 螺. Sk: dharmasankha. A conch shell used as a Buddhist trumpet. In ancient India the conch shell was used as a trumpet on the battlefield to transmit orders to the troops. It symbolized authority. In Hinduism it is an attribute of the god Vishnu who uses it to terrify enemies with its blaring sound. In the Buddhist tradition the conch, with sound emitted in all directions, represents the spread of Buddhist teaching. As a prominent Buddhist ritual object in Tibet, it is used for liturgical music, to call assemblies, to drive away evil spirits, and to symbolize the mantra "Om". In Japan, the houra was introduced along with Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教 from Tang dynasty. It is used in mikkyou, along with other objects, for an anointment ceremony called kanjou 灌頂 in which a master confers a certain status upon a disciple. There is a Muromachi period example of a houra at Touji 東寺 in Kyoto. Houra are also used as paraphernalia for yamabushi 山伏 (mountain priests) in the mystic ascetic practice of shugendou 修験道 (see *En no gyouja 役行者). The houra is used as a *jimotsu 持物 (hand-held attribute) for *Senju Kannon 千手観音 (Thousand-armed Kannon), as seen in the 8c example from Toushoudaiji 唐招提寺 in Nara. Although the attributes and number of arms of *Juntei 准胝 vary, she may be depicted holding a houra. Kouryuuji 広隆寺 in Kyoto owns a 13c painting of an eighteen-armed Juntei holding a houra in one of the right hands. As an attribute of *Kannon 観音 the houra symbolizes the calling forth of good spirits zenshin 善神.

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