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Written Stūpa, Painted Sūtra: Relationships of Text and Image in the Construction of Meaning in the Japanese Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas

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Written Stūpa, Painted Sūtra: Relationships of Text and Image in the Construction of Meaning in the Japanese Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas WRITTEN STŪPA, PAINTED SŪTRA: RELATIONSHIPS OF TEXT AND IMAGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEANING IN THE JAPANESE JEWELED-STŪPA MANDALAS BY ©2011 HALLE ELIZABETH O‘NEAL Submitted to the graduate degree program in The Kress Foundation Department of Art History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Sherry Fowler ________________________________ Marsha Haufler ________________________________ Amy McNair ________________________________ Sally Cornelison ________________________________ Margaret Childs Date Defended: October 19, 2011 The Dissertation Committee for HALLE ELIZABETH O‘NEAL certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: WRITTEN STŪPA, PAINTED SŪTRA: RELATIONSHIPS OF TEXT AND IMAGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEANING IN THE JAPANESE JEWELED-STŪPA MANDALAS ________________________________ Chairperson Sherry Fowler Date approved: October 19, 2011 ii Abstract This dissertation contextualizes the twelfth- and thirteenth-centuries Japanese jeweled-stūpa mandalas as some of the most striking examples from the early medieval period of innovative elaborations on sūtra transcription. The project proceeds from a methodology grounded in visual analysis and religious studies. I begin with basic questions of semiotic inquiry about the prominence and privileging of sacred text in the form of the central dharma reliquary, a characteristic distinguishing the mandalas from nearly all other paintings made before them. I seek to understand the reasons behind the privileging of scripture on the picture plane and the inventive manipulation of the sūtra text into the form of a stūpa, both novel choices in the context of their early medieval Japanese production. At their root, the jeweled-stūpa mandalas are an elaborate sūtra transcription project revealing anxieties about death and power expressed through the belief that devotion to sūtra can save souls, cure illnesses, grant tremendous authority, and much more. After investigating the continental origins of the mandalas and the culture of sūtra transcription during the eleventh through thirteenth centuries and conducting an analysis into the particular histories and formal qualities, the project approaches the mandalas using a three-part collaborative analysis. The first part examines visual, textual, and archaeological evidence from the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, which testifies to the understandings and capabilities of text as well as the power of sacred word expressed repeatedly and profoundly in early medieval Japan. This exploration of sūtra text lays the critical basis for the second part‘s investigation into the notion of body underpinning the innovative construction of the mandalas. The indivisibility of sūtra, stūpa, iii dharma, relic, and body in the paintings visually manifests the conflated nature of these seemingly independent concepts in religious practice and doctrine. Combining the first two parts facilitates a reading of the mandalas through what I call a salvific matrix of text and body. The third part concludes the dissertation by returning to an explicit discussion of semiotics, further exploring the construction of meaning in the mandalas through their imbrication of text and image. iv Dedication For Jerry O‘Neal, Entomologist, poet, and author of historical westerns—but most important to me, loving father and the most compassionate of men. I miss you and love you so. v Acknowledgements This project began to take shape in 2005 during a graduate seminar about the visual culture of relics and reliquaries in Buddhism and Christianity. In addition to her influence as co-convener of that seminar, I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to my advisor, Sherry Fowler, not only because she recognized even then the worth of the jeweled-stūpa mandalas as a dissertation topic, but also for her faithful guidance, support, and encouragement. Sherry is always generous with her time and judgment, and her instruction throughout my graduate studies has been instrumental to my thinking about Asian art history in general and to this project in particular. I would also like to warmly thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Amy McNair, Marsha Haufler, Sally Cornelison, and Maggie Childs, for their discerning comments and suggestions. This dissertation is stronger because of their participation in the project, and any remaining weaknesses and missteps are purely my own responsibility. I would especially like to thank Amy McNair for being the second-reader and for her insightful instruction in the classroom, and Marsha Haufler for her inspirational courses which kindled my secondary love of Chinese painting. Donohashi Akio of Kōbe University, Japan, gave freely of his time and extensive knowledge of Buddhist painting during my research period there and skillfully arranged for me to examine the Danzan Shrine jeweled-stūpa mandalas. Because of his generous spirit and the dear friends I made there, I felt completely welcomed into the art history department at Kobe. Additionally, I thank Naitō Sakae of Nara National Museum for allowing me to attend his highly informative lectures on Buddhist visual and material culture. I have also benefited greatly from vi presenting different aspects of this project at several conferences, where I received valuable feedback from many individuals, in particular Ian Astley, Michael Jamentz, Lucia Dolce, and John Carpenter. Oikawa Kaori helped me slog through the translation of passages that were critical to the project. The many conversations with friends in the art history cohort of both the University of Kansas and Kōbe University helped me clarify my project and retain my sanity. Throughout my graduate career, I received generous funding for both dissertation research and language training. The Japanese government granted an eighteen-month Monbukagakushō Scholarship which supported my time at Kōbe University. I was also substantially funded by Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships through the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas in the summers of 2003, 2004, and 2009 and in the academic years of 2003-2004 and 2006-2007. The University of Kansas funded the presentation of my research in 2007 with a Graduate Student Paper Presenter Travel Fund and an Art History Travel Fund. The US State Department supported further study of advanced modern Japanese in summer 2010 through a Critical Language Scholarship. I would not have been able to complete the dissertation without these various forms of support and am grateful for all of them. My debt to family and friends cannot be fully acknowledged here without significant space and embarrassment. My mother, Sylvia O‘Neal, provided support and love and kept me well-fed and laughing throughout the process. My mother-in-law, Susan Hom, provided loving attentiveness at various stages and is generally the most considerate person I‘ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. My father-in-law, Harry Hom, provided the constant model of a fun-loving yet engaged academic. My aunt, Brenda Lott, has been a great source of support and encouragement throughout my entire life. To my husband, Andy Hom, who brings utter vii happiness and love to my life, I thank you for the years of unfailing support and comfort and for reading numerous drafts of this dissertation and countless term papers during graduate school. Our years together have been the best of my life, and I look forward with eager anticipation to our ‗herd.‘ Finally, I would like to thank my dedicated father, Jerry O‘Neal aka Jess McCreede, for raising me and for always loving me. The passage of time cannot diminish my devotion to you. viii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction . 1 Introduction to Topic . 1 Review of the Jeweled-Stūpa Mandala Literature . 7 Plan of the dissertation . 13 Conclusion . 16 Chapter Two: Continental Prototypes and Contexts of Copying . 17 Continental Prototypes 18 Culture of Copying 26 Conclusion 51 Chapter Three: The Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas as Historical Objects: Analyses of the Formal Qualities and Context . 52 Set History: Chūsonji Mandalas 52 Set History: Danzan Shrine Mandalas 85 Set History: Ryūhonji mandalas 105 Lone Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas 118 Conclusion 123 Chapter Four: Dharma Reliquary and the Power of Word . 125 Power of Sacred Word .126 Dharma Relics 146 Conclusion 174 Chapter Five: Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas as a Salvific Matrix of Text and Body . 176 Bodies of the Buddha 178 Choosing the Stūpa 188 Conclusion: the Salvific Matrix of Text and Body 205 Chapter Six: Text and Image Issues in the Jeweled-Stūpa Mandalas . 213 Semiotic Perspectives 214 Textualized Community 218 Role Reversals 240 Ways of Viewing 250 Materiality 253 Conclusion 260 Chapter Seven: Conclusion . 262 Goals and Summary of the Project 262 Avenues for Future Research 277 Bibliography . 281 ix Chapter One Introduction Introduction to Topic Radiant gold and traces of oxidized silver contrast dramatically against a deep blue background in the Japanese jeweled-stūpa mandalas (Kinji hōtō mandara 金字宝塔曼荼羅) of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Tall and narrow, the format complements the structure of the central, golden stūpa. Rooted in the earthly realm, yet existing in an otherworldly space, the stūpa is surrounded by graphic vignettes adapted from the tales of the sūtras. Rather than straight and measured architectural lines, diminutive sūtra characters build
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