juuou　十王

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Ten Kings. The ten kings of hell who preside at the gates of the underworld, assigning souls to heaven or hell. The Buddhist idea of hell derived from the Taoist underworld headed by Taishanfuzhun (Jp: Taizanfukun 太山府君) and his ten attendants. By the Tang dynasty, this folk deity was associated with the Indian god Yama (Jp: *Enmaou 閻魔王), the Lord of Death, and incorporated into popular Chinese Buddhism, and then imported into Japan during the Heian period. Various scriptures, including the 10c Chinese YUXIU SHIWANG SHENGQIJING 預修十王生七経 and slightly later Japanese JIZOU BOSATSU HOSSHIN INNEN JUUOU KYOU 地蔵菩薩発心因縁十王経, were created to support the idea of a Buddhist hell. The Ten Kings pronounce judgement a specific number of days after death, and each king is also associated with its true nature in the form of a Buddha *honjibutsu 本地仏. The earliest known painting of the theme is a Song dynasty scroll found at Dunhuang (Jp: Tonkou 敦煌 now in the Musee Guimet, Paris). Professional Buddhist painters working in the port city of Ningpo (Jp: Ninpou 寧波) in the 13c, such as Lu Xinzhong (Jp: Riku Shinchuu 陸信忠; fl.ca. 1195-1276), Lu Zhongyuan (Jp: Riku Chuuen 陸仲淵, Morimura Collection, Tokyo), and Jin Chushi (Jp: Kin Shoshi 金処子, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), produced paintings of juuou which were exported to Japan. Korean paintings showing *Jizou 地蔵 and the Ten Kings were also exported to Japan. With the rise of popular sects and the cult of Jizou the fear of hell became a prominent feature in 13c Japanese Buddhism. Many temples built worship halls called enmadou 閻魔堂, with paintings or sculpture of the Juuou placed inside. A good example is the mid-13c Enmadou and sculpture group at Ennouji 円応寺 in Kanagawa prefecture. Typically the Ten Kings are rendered in painting on sets of ten hanging scrolls or in ten wooden sculptures. They usually sit in front of desks, and wear the caps and robes of Chinese officials. However, their faces, distorted by bulging eyes and grimacing mouths, reveal their terrifying function. Often a sinner is shown kneeling before each king, as the king reads from a large scroll. Beginning in the Muromachi period, the juuou were paired in painting with their equivalent Buddhas. The Ten Kings are frequently depicted in paintings of the six realms of rebirth *rokudou-e 六道絵. The Ten Kings and Enmaou in particular, were parodied by late Edo period artists such as Kawanabe Gyousai 河鍋暁斎 (1831-89). Figure: The Ten Kings/their day of judgement: honjibutsu 1 Shinkouou 泰広王 (Ch: Qingguangwang)/ 7th day: *Fudou Myouou 不動明王. 2 Shokouou 初江王 (Ch: Chujiangwang) /27th day: *Shaka 釈迦. 3 Souteiou 宋帝王 (Ch: Songdiwang) /37th day: *Monju 文殊. 4 Gokan'ou 五官王 (Ch: Wuguanwang) /47th day: *Fugen 普賢. 5 Enmaou (Ch: Yanlowang) /57th day: Jizou. 6 Henseiou 変成王 (Ch: Bianchengwang)/67th day: *Miroku 弥勒. 7 Taizan'ou 泰山王 (Ch; Taishanwang) /77th day: *Yakushi 薬師. 8 Byoudouou 平等王 (Ch: Pinglengwang) /100th day: *Kannon 観音. 9 Toshiou 都市王 (Ch: Dushiwang) /1st anniversary: *Seishi 勢至. 10 Godoutenrin'ou 五道転輪王 (Ch: Wudaozhuanlunwang) /3rd anniversary: *Amida 阿弥陀.

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