Cult and Image

~ Hachiman imagery holds a special place in the history of shinzo. Images of Hach· 'tlI iman are among the earliest; they are also the largest single group, with examples ~ y ranging from Oita Prefecture in the south to Nagano Prefecture in the north. Their " number and distribution reveal the pervasiveness of Hachiman worship (see Map '\. on page 36). "- First and foremost among Hachiman shrines is the Usa Shrine in Oita Prefecture (formerly Buzen Province), dedicated, probably in the sixth century, to the goddess Hime­ gami and the god Hachiman. In 749, Hachiman and Hime-gami were officially welcomed to the capital where a shrine was prepared at Todaiji. In 859, some fifty years after the transfer of the capital to , the Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine was founded on a hill to the southeast of this city. The cult there included Hachiman, identified as Ojin Tenno (r. 270-310), Japan's fifteenth emperor, and two female attendants, Hime-gami, identified as Ojin's consort, and Jingii Kogo, his mother. In 1180, a shrine was constructed at Tsu­ rugaoka in , the seat of the Kamakura military government. These four shrines were the centers of the state cult to Hachiman. The many smaller shrines and chinjusha con­ structed throughout the country between the eighth and thirteenth centuries mark the growth of devotion to Hachiman on the regional and local levels. Although images of Hachiman are housed in many shrines and temples, this study focuses on statues in the tutelary shrines on the compounds of Todaiji and Yakushiji in Nara, and Toji in Kyoto. Each exemplifies a stage in the stylistic development of shinzo: those in Toji, the early Heian; those in Yakushiji, the late Heian; that in Todaiji, the Kama­ kura. By-products of the official cult to Hachiman, they make visible the changing percep­ tion of the deity during the period that saw the expansion of his worship from its provincial birthplace in Kyushu, to Nara, Kyoto, and finally, Kamakura. What follows is a brief outline of these changes. 1

35 Distribution of Shrines and Temples with ShinzG (Locations are approximate)

Kyoto: Tiiji Chinju Hachimangii Matsunoo Taisha Oaishiigun Hachi Jinja Okayama: .:. Q c>t? Takano Jinja Usa:

HONSHU

Tiidaiji Chinju Hachimangli Tsuboi Hachimangu Yakushiji Chinju Hachimangu Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shiimyiiji

Ikeda Hach imangu Yoshino: (Choshiiji) Mikumari J inja

Kumano: ShingU, Hongu Nachi Jinja