shuji mandara　種字曼荼羅

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Lit. "Seed syllable mandala, *mandara 曼荼羅". A mandala in which the deities are symbolized by "seed syllables" shuji 種字 (Sk: bijaksara), or Sanskrit syllables which in Japan are written in a script known as shittan 悉曇 (Sk: siddham). Whereas the daimandara 大曼荼羅 (great mandala), in which the deities are shown in their physical form, represents the Buddha's "mystery of the body", the shuji mandara symbolizes the Buddha's "mystery of speech" and is considered to correspond to the houmandara 法曼荼羅 among the four types of mandara known as *shishu mandara 四種曼荼羅. A typical shuji mandara is the tenjirin mandara 転字輪曼荼羅 described in the DAINICHIKYOU 大日経 (Sk:Vairocanabhisambodhi Sutra/Mahavairocana Sutra). *Kuukai 空海 (774-835) brought back to Japan a copy of a shuji mandara version of the *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 , and because the shuji mandara was easier to produce than a standard mandala depicting the deities in their physical forms, there are many extant examples. The *shiki mandara 敷曼荼羅　used in initiation rites may also take the form of a shuji mandara; this is because it is easier to produce than a standard mandala and also more convenient for identifing deities during the rite initiation.

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