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kaigen kuyou 開眼供養 | ||||||
KEY WORD : art history / sculptures | ||||||
Also
abbreviated to kaigen or kaigan 開眼, nyuugan, jugan,
or jugen 入眼. Lit. eye-opening ceremony. A ceremony to consecrate
a newly made Buddhist image in which an officiating priest paints in the
pupils of the eyes of the Buddha. It is believed that the soul enters the
statue or painting. The image is thus passed symbolically from the hands
of the artist to the temple. The priest who paints in the dot of the pupil
is called the kaigenshi 開眼師. The ceremony usually takes place when
the statue or painting is installed in the temple after all other decoration
is completed. A famous example of kaigen kuyou is known as daibutsu kaigen kuyou
大仏開眼供養 or daibutsu kaigen 大仏開眼, the consecration ceremony for the
Great Buddha of Nara (see *daibutsu
大仏), in 752. It was the first kaigen kuyou ceremony held in Japan,
and some of the masks, costumes and utensils used, including the brush for
the eye-opening, are preserved in Nara's *Shousouin
正倉院. The ceremony was attended by the Emperor Shoumu 聖武, the Empress Koumyou 光明, and
other officials. Monks assembled from all around the country to chant the
sutra, and the kaigenshi (officiating priest) was a Brahman priest
from India. The daibutsu kaigen kuyou is recorded to have been a
magnificent event, with Emperor Kouken 孝謙 and previous retired emperors
also in attendance, as well as many experts in all branches of the arts
and military. |
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(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. No reproduction or republication without written permission. 掲載のテキスト・写真・イラストなど、全てのコンテンツの無断複製・転載を禁じます。 |
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