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Kasuga mandara@t“ú™Ö䶗…
KEY WORD :@art history / iconography
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Devotional paintings of the deities and landscape of Kasuga Taisha t“ú‘ĺŽĐ which was founded in Nara in the 8c as the family shrine of the prosperous Fujiwara “ĄŒ´ clan. Kasuga mandara may also include the scenery and deities of Koufukuji ‹ť•ŸŽ›, a Buddhist temple which was closely related to the shrine. There are three main types of Kasuga mandara.

1@*Miya mandara ‹{™Ö䶗… which show Kasuga Taisha and its landscape. A variation related to this type is shaji mandara ŽĐŽ›™Ö䶗…, which also includes the temple Koufukuji, and in particular Koufukuji mandara ‹ť•ŸŽ›™Ö䶗… in which the shrine occupies much less space than the temple.

2@Shika mandara Ž­™Ö䶗… shows deer which are the sacred animal of Kasuga and which are often paired with a sacred tree (sakaki ĺ; Cleyara ochnacea) and/or a sacred mirror. A variation on this type is the journey of the deity Takemikazuchi no kami •—‹_ (and sometimes other *kami _) from Kashima Ž­“‡ (modern Ibaraki prefecture) to Kasuga on a deer. This variation is called Kashimadachi mandara Ž­“‡—§™Ö䶗… or Kashimadachi Shen'ei-zu Ž­“‡—§_‰e}.

3@Honji suijaku mandara –{’n‚ç‘™Ö䶗… or *songyou mandara ‘¸Œ`™Ö䶗…. This type includes all paintings of Shinto deities, kami and their Buddhist counterparts *honjibutsu –{’n•§, and may be divided into four subgroups. (a) Honjaku mandara –{瑙Ö䶗… show Buddhist and Shinto deities in relation to one another. (b) Honjibutsu mandara –{’n•§™Ö䶗… show only the Buddhist deities, either as a group or alone. (c) Suijaku mandara ‚ç‘™Ö䶗…, which show individual kami alone. (d) Paintings of *Akadouji Ô“śŽq (the Red Youth). Paintings also occur outside of these categories showing Kasuga Taisha as paradise, and these are known as Kasuga joudo mandara t“úň“y™Ö䶗… and Kasuga Fudarakusen mandara t“ú•â‘É—ŽŽR™Ö䶗…. There are four sanctuaries within the main shrine at Kasuga. The first is referred to as Ichinomiya ˆę‹{, and is dedicated to Takemikazuchi of Kashima Jinguu Ž­“‡_‹{. The second sanctuary, Ninomiya “ń‹{ is dedicated to Futsunushi no mikoto ÖŽĺ–˝ of Katori Jinguu Žć_‹{ (Chiba prefecture), the third, Sannomiya ŽO‹{ to Ame no koyane “VŽ™‰ŽŞ of Hiraoka Jinja •˝‰Ş_ŽĐ (Osaka), and the fourth, Shinomiya Žl‹{ to Himegami ”䔄_. Amenokoyane is the ancestral deity of the Nakatomi ’†b clan who were the family of the shrines priests and the clan from which the Fujiwara sprang. The principal subsidiary shrine Wakamiya Žá‹{ was established in 1135 and is often included in Kasuga painting. All of these shrines and deities feature in Kasuga mandara, accompanied by lesser shrines and deities within the precincts. The identification of honjibutsu at Kasuga vary in the paintings. In the first sanctuary *Fukuukenjaku Kannon •s‹ó㮍őŠĎ‰š and *Shaka Žß‰Ţ are the usual choices, with Fukuukenjaku appearing more often when the deity is shown alone and Shaka when the deities appear together. In the second sanctuary *Miroku –íčÓ and *Yakushi –ňŽt are identified. *Jizou ’n‘  is the prevailing honjibutsu in the third. Himegami (of the fourth sanctuary) was identified with Ise ˆÉ¨ and could have *Dainichi ‘ĺ“ú as her honjibutsu, but she is usually linked here with *Juuichimen Kannon \ˆę–ʊωš. For Wakamiya the most usual honjibutsu are *Shoukannon šŠĎ‰š and *Monju •śŽę, although Juuichimen Kannon is also seen. The uses of Kasuga art can be divided into four groups. 1@As a substitute for the clan god among the Fujiwara nobility. Among the shrine and temple personnel at Kasuga, Koufukuji and related establishments they served as a substitute for the deity and as a symbol of his protection. 2@Occasionally art objects including paintings were used as embodiments of a deity *shintai _‘Ě and kept within the shrines as the seat of the deity. 3@Paintings were hung in the halls of Koufukuji and other Buddhist temples related to KasugaTaisha during important ceremonies at Koufukuji as a reminder of the shrine's role as the protector of the temple and of the ceremony. 4@Paintings served as a focus of devotion during the meetings of the kou u. These were confraternities who felt a special connection with the shrine either through geographical ties, being a Koufukukuji monk or a Kasuga Taisha attendant, belonging to an estate owned by the shrine or having served at ceremonies at the shrine. The existence of a large number of Kasuga mandara is due to the backing of the Fujiwara family and of Koufukuji which encouraged the spread of the cult of Kasuga. This patronage also ensured a high standard of artwork which was reinforced by proximity to the court artists of the capital and by easy access to the ateliers of other prominent Buddhist artists in the Yamato ‘ĺ˜a area. Paintings of Kasuga generally lack the folk element and appeal of other comparable sites such as Kumano (see *Kumano mandara ŒF–ě™Ö䶗…), which reflects the aristocratic nature of the cult. There are no pilgrims shown in the paintings, largely due to production: most major works from Kasuga date from the Muromachi period (15c) or earlier, while sankei mandara (pilgrimage paintings) are of a later date. The date of the origin of Kasuga mandara has been the matter of debate. There is mention of a painting which seems to correspond to Kasuga miya mandara t“ú‹{™Ö䶗… in GYOKUYOU ‹Ę—t (5/16/1186) the diary of Kujou Kanezane ‹ăđŒ“ŽŔ (1149-1207). He also recorded (9/7/1191) that he offered a Kasuga a painting and prayers on behalf of the empress, and he listed the honjibutsu. By the 14c the retired emperor Hanazano ‰Ô‰€ could write in HANAZONOIN SHINKI ‰Ô‰€‰@›‚‹L that everyone had a Kasuga miya mandara. Examples extant from the Muromachi period are common, being of good quality and interesting iconography, although by late in the period the Fujiwara clan became poor and the temporal power of Koufukuji had diminished. Popular devotion at Kasuga was not absent but it was not strong enough to change the aristocratic character of the shrine and thus the art associated with it. In the Edo period all of the different types of painting were made, but their quality became more stereotyped. At the same time calligraphies of The Oracles of the Three Shrines sansha takusen ŽOŽĐ‘őé and of the name of Kasuga Daimyoujin t“ú‘ĺ–ž_ as well as shika mandara and paintings or prints of Akadouji seem to have displaced some types of the older painteings.
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