Daruma　達磨

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Sk: Bodhidharma. Ch: Damo. A semi-legendary Indian monk credited with bringing the teachings of Zen (Ch: Chan) to China. Much of what is known of Bodhidharma's biography is found in the 1053 DENPOU SHOUSHUUKI 伝法正宗記 (Ch: Chuanfa Zhengzongji ; A Record of the Transmission of the Law and Correct Teaching). The son of a Brahmin king in southern India, he achieved enlightenment as the 28th successor to Sakyamuni *Shaka 釈迦. Bodhidharma travelled by boat to Guangdong (Jp: Kanton 広東) around 520, and then made his way north to Nanjing (Jp: Nankin 南京). There he met the Emperor Wu (Jp: Bu 武 ; 502-550), founder of the Liang dynasty and a devout Buddhist, who is supposed to have asked: "What is the first principle of holy teaching?" Bodhidharma's enigmatic reply, which can be translated as there is no knowing, and vast emptiness, left the emperor baffled. Bodhidharma then crossed the Yangzi River (Jp: Yousukou 楊子江) and entered the Wei kingdom where he established himself at the Shaolin Temple (Jp: Shourinji 少林寺) on Mt Song (Jp: Suuzan 嵩山). At the monastery Bodhidharma is said to have practiced seated meditation, zazen 坐禅 for nine years facing a cave wall. Eventually he took Huike (Jp: Eka 慧可; 487-593) to be his disciple. Bodhidharma was frequently rendered by both Chinese and Japanese painters of Zen subjects. The style of Bodhidharma paintings varies greatly, ranging from relatively descriptive patriarch portraits *chinsou 頂相 in ink and color, to barely recognizable pictures done with a single stroke of ink Ippitsu Daruma 一筆達磨. The great number of Bodhidharma portraits stems from the fact that they were given to Zen disciples and hung as images of devotion in reminder of the continuous and true transmission of the Buddhist Law (Dharma). Bodhidharma is usually depicted with a large nose, bushy eyebrows, curly hair and beard, and wearing large earrings. According to some legends, Bodhidharma, impatient at having fallen asleep while meditating, cut off his eyelids. Artists often show him with large, staring eyes without eyelids. There are several basic types of Bodhidharma portraits. Most frequent are three-quarter depictions yokomuki 横向 which include only Bodhidharma's craggy visage and the sweeping shoulder contour of his robe, bust portrait or hanshinzou 半身像, and frontal portraits shoumen 正面 which show Bodhidharma wrapped in his priest's robe sitting in meditation. In addition to imaginary portraits, there are painting subjects derived from incidents in Bodhidharma's life. For instance, his crossing of the Yangtze, probably in a reed boat came to be depicted as the image of Bodhidharma standing or floating along on reeds, Royou Daruma 芦葉達磨. Bodhidharma's years of meditation are represented with images of a seated monk facing a cave-wall called Wall gazing, Menpeki Daruma 面壁達磨. Related are depictions of the disciple Huike presenting his cut-off arm *Eka Danpi 慧可断臂 as a sign of his serious desire to study meditation with the Indian master. The One Shoe Bodhidharma, Sekiri Daruma 隻履達磨 paintings feature Bodhidharma holding a single shoe and derive from the legend that Bodhidharma, after his death and burial on Mt Xioger (Jp: Yuujizan 熊耳山), came to life again and traveled back to India. A Chinese official returning from India reported he saw Bodhidharma in the mountains carrying a single sandal in his hand. When officials rushed to open Bodhidharma's tomb they found only the remaining sandal in the otherwise empty grave. Bodhidharma was also the subject of parody by *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists who often showed him accompanied by courtesans. Bodhidarma is popularly represented in the bright red legless dolls developed in the 16c and commonly used in the Edo period as a charm against smallpox.

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