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Kumano Mandara: Portraits, Power, and Lineage in Medieval Japan

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Kumano Mandara: Portraits, Power, and Lineage in Medieval Japan KUMANO MANDARA: PORTRAITS, POWER, AND LINEAGE IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN By Susan Jean Zitterbart BA, Carnegie Mellon University, 1963 MA, University of Pittsburgh, 1998 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Susan Zitterbart It was defended on May 6, 2008 and approved by Katheryn Linduff, Professor, History of Art and Architecture David Wilkins, Professor Emeritus, History of Art and Architecture Linda Penkower, Associate Professor, Religious Studies Ann Jannetta, Professor Emerita, History Dissertation Advisor: Karen Gerhart, Professor, History of Art and Architecture ii Copyright © by Susan Zitterbart 2008 iii KUMANO MANDARA: PORTRAITS, POWER, AND LINEAGE IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN Susan Jean Zitterbart, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2008 This dissertation focuses on two miya mandara depicting the sacred geography of the Kumano region of Japan (late-thirteenth/early-fourteenth centuries). It demonstrates that the paintings were produced at Onjōji, a Tendai Buddhist temple in the eastern foothills of Mount Hiei, and owned by Shōgoin, its sub-temple in Kyoto. These temples were affiliated with the Jimon branch of Tendai associated with the esoteric cleric Enchin (814-891)), and were, by the time of the production of the mandara, in heated doctrinal, institutional, and political dispute over independence from the Tendai headquarters at Enryakuji. Three primary issues related to the mandara are addressed. First is the purpose of their production. The dissertation questions earlier claims that miya mandara primarily functioned as visual tools allowing mental visits to depicted sacred sites in place of expensive and arduous pilgrimages. Rather, it argues that the Kumano mandara were part of a larger contemporaneous discourse that included other forms of written and visual materials—such as the Ippen hijiri-e and Tengu zōshi handscrolls, Shugen shinanshō, and petitions to court—and represented an orchestrated attempt to promote the spiritual superiority and legitimate the institutional autonomy of Onjōji over Enryakuji. Viewed within this context, two atypical features of miya mandara found in the Kumano mandara can be understood: the inclusion of a portrait of Enchin and of the esoteric Diamond and Womb World mandala. Lineage and power being inseparable in the religious and political iv culture of medieval Japan, the dissertation argues that the purpose of their placement in the Kumano mandara was to claim that the superiority of Onjōji was rooted in both Enchin’s Jimon lineage and his form of esoteric Tendai centered at the temple, and that each, in turn, valorized and legitimized Onjōji’s claim for superiority over all other temples, especially Enryakuji. Finally, the dissertation takes up the problem of another portrait found in the mandara, which has been identified (without substantiation) as the Shingon esoteric priest Kūkai (774-835). The dissertation contests this attribution, which is inconsistent with its other findings, and offers possible avenues of pursuit for identifying this damaged and controversial portrait. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 2.0 THE KII PENINSULA AND KUMANO................................................................. 12 2.1 ASCETIC PRACTICES AND PRACTITIONERS ....................................... 18 2.2 THE INFLUENCE OF HONJI SUIJAKU AND BUDDHISM ON KUMANO MANDARA......................................................................................................................... 25 3.0 KUMANO MANDARA............................................................................................. 36 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 36 3.2 MAP OR MANDARA? EARLY LITERARY EVIDENCE OF MANDARA PRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 40 3.3 TYPES AND COMPOSITIONS OF SHŌGOIN MIYA KUMANO MANDARA......................................................................................................................... 52 3.3.1 Center Sections of the Shōgoin honji and suijaku Mandara................... 53 3.3.1.1 Honji Mandara.................................................................................... 54 3.3.1.2 Suijaku Mandara ................................................................................ 56 3.3.1.3 Eight-Petal Lotus Mandara ............................................................... 58 3.3.1.4 Kumano Pilgrimage Mandara............................................................ 60 3.3.2 Lower and Upper Sections of the Shōgoin Mandara............................... 63 3.3.2.1 Gohō Guardians.................................................................................. 64 vi 3.3.2.2 Kongō Zaō Gongen............................................................................. 66 3.3.2.3 En no Gyōja......................................................................................... 66 3.3.3 Sacred Children: Dōji and Ōji................................................................... 68 3.3.3.1 Dōji....................................................................................................... 68 3.3.3.2 Ōji......................................................................................................... 78 4.0 ONJŌJI AND THE QUESTION OF THE LOCATION OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE SHŌGOIN MANDARA ............................................................................................. 83 4.1 WORKSHOP CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ONJŌJI AND SHŌGOIN.... 87 4.2 PORTRAIT STATUES OF ENCHIN ............................................................. 89 4.3 COMPOSITIONAL SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE SHŌGOIN PILGRIMAGE MANDARA AND THE IPPEN HIJIRI-E SCROLL III AS EVIDENCE OF ONJŌJI AS PLACE OF PRODUCTION ........................................... 95 4.4 IDENTITY OF THE PAINTER(S) OF THE IPPEN HIJIRI-E AND THEIR CONNECTION TO ONJŌJI .......................................................................................... 103 5.0 ENCHIN, ONJŌJI AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLE LINEAGE .. 107 5.1 ONJŌJI, ENRYAKUJI, AND ENCHIN ....................................................... 111 5.2 ENCHIN, ENNIN, AND THE JIMON AND SANMON BRANCHES ...... 117 5.2.1 Enchin and the Rise of Onjōji.................................................................. 119 5.2.2 Onjōji, the Military Government, and Renewed Petitions ................... 123 5.3 TENGU ZŌSHI EMAKIMONO.................................................................... 126 5.3.1 Patronage, Authorship, and Purpose of the Tengu zōshi ...................... 128 5.3.2 Tengu zōshi, Enchin, and Sectarian Purposes........................................ 130 vii 5.4 CLERIC ASSOCIATIONS AS ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF LEGITIMACY AND SUPERIORITY AS LISTED IN THE SHUGEN SHINANSHŌ 146 5.5 SHŌGOIN MANDARA: PORTRAITS, AND ESOTERIC MANDALA .. 155 APPENDIX A............................................................................................................................ 161 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 163 APPENDIX C............................................................................................................................ 165 APPENDIX D............................................................................................................................ 167 APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................................ 168 APPENDIX F ............................................................................................................................ 171 APPENDIX G............................................................................................................................ 180 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................... 196 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Honji Mandara Deities .................................................................................................. 54 Figure 2: Suijaku Mandara............................................................................................................ 57 Figure 3: Central Eight-Petal Court .............................................................................................. 59 Figure 4: Pilgrimage Mandara ...................................................................................................... 61 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is with deep gratitude that I thank the members of my committee who have supported my academic journey at the University of Pittsburgh. Each member willingly gave their time to guide me in this dissertation process and I thank them for this. I thank Drs. Karen Gerhart and Linda Penkower for their advice and support as this project neared completion. I am indebted to Drs. Katheryn Linduff, David Wilkins, and Ann Jannetta for their guidance, probing questions, and insights throughout the entire process. I was able to carry out research in Japan thanks to the generous support of the Japan Iron and Steel/Mitsubishi Graduate Fellowship in Japanese Studies (Asian Studies Center
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