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Lode Rosseels Gaṇeśa's Underbelly from Hindu Goblin God To Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte Lode Rosseels Gaṇeśa’s Underbelly From Hindu Goblin God to Japanese Tantric Twosome Promotor: Dr. Andreas Niehaus Vakgroep Talen en culturen van Zuid- en Oost-Azië Masterproef voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van Master in de Oosterse Talen en Culturen Japan 2015-2016 De auteur en de promotor(en) geven de toelating deze studie als geheel voor consultatie beschikbaar te stellen voor persoonlijk gebruik. Elk ander gebruik valt onder de beperkingen van het auteursrecht, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot de verplichting de bron uitdrukkelijk te vermelden bij het aanhalen van gegevens uit deze studie. Het auteursrecht betreffende de gegevens vermeld in deze studie berust bij de promotor(en). Het auteursrecht beperkt zich tot de wijze waarop de auteur de problematiek van het onderwerp heeft benaderd en neergeschreven. De auteur respecteert daarbij het oorspronkelijke auteursrecht van de individueel geciteerde studies en eventueel bijhorende documentatie, zoals tabellen en figuren. De auteur en de promotor(en) zijn niet verantwoordelijk voor de behandelingen en eventuele doseringen die in deze studie geciteerd en beschreven zijn. Preface During my last stay in Japan, I was graciously accepted into the IMAP program at Kyushu University, where the main research focus is Buddhism. I thus came in contact with the wondrous and complex religion and art of Buddhism, which I soon came to find very interesting. Buddhism and Hinduism are closely related and cannot be studied separately, yet I found it remarkable that there seemed to be no representations of the very popular Hindu god Gaṇeśa in Japan. I then came across Japanese representations of a couple of elephant-headed deities in an erotic embrace, which is in fact the Japanese version of Gaṇeśa. This remarkable representation prompted me to to look further into the evolution of this figure, which I will describe briefly in this paper. This paper is intended for those with a basic knowledge of Japanese religions and Buddhism. Even though it may be possible to enjoy the reconstruction of Gaṇeśa’s transformation without any background knowledge of these religious topics, the uniqueness of the concurrence of developments that has led to the remarkable appearance of the Japanese version of Gaṇeśa may not become fully apparent. I would like to offer my gratitude toward the teachers and staff of the Department of Eastern Languages and Cultures of Ghent University, who supported me during my research and helped me to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to this topic. I am especially grateful to Dr. Andreas Niehaus for his guidance throughout this project. Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: The Indian Gaṇeśa ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1. The Development of the Indian Gaṇeśa ........................................................................................... 4 1.1.1. The Emergence of a Demonic Proto-Ganeśa ........................................................................... 4 1.1.2. Gaṇeśa’s Adoption into the Indian Pantheon ........................................................................... 6 1.1.3. The New Benevolent Gaṇapati................................................................................................. 8 1.1.4. The Emergence of a Tantric Gaṇeśa Cult ................................................................................ 9 1.1.5. Gaṇeśa after the Gupta Period ................................................................................................ 10 1.2. Some Notes in Regard to Femininity ............................................................................................. 11 1.2.1. Vināyaki: a Female Gaṇeśa .................................................................................................... 11 1.2.2. Gaṇeśa’s Marital Status .......................................................................................................... 12 1.2.3. Yogācāra and the Significance of Consorts ........................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Gaṇeśa’s Journey to Japan ............................................................................................. 14 2.1. The Diffusion of Buddhism ............................................................................................................ 14 2.1.1. The Interaction between Hinduism and Buddhism ................................................................ 14 2.1.2. The Rise of Vajrayāna Buddhism .......................................................................................... 15 2.2. Tibetan Interpretations of Gaṇeśa .................................................................................................. 16 2.1.1. Tibetan Tantric Buddhism ...................................................................................................... 16 2.1.2. Tibetan Fearsome and Erotic Representations ....................................................................... 17 2.3. Chinese Interpretations of Gaṇeśa .................................................................................................. 18 2.3.1. Gaṇeśa’s First Appearance in China ...................................................................................... 18 2.3.2. A Four-legged Gaṇeśa from Endere ....................................................................................... 19 2.3.3. Some Dual-Vināyaka Sūtras .................................................................................................. 20 2.3.4. Occult Versions of Vināyaka-Gaṇapati .................................................................................. 22 2.3.5. The Construction of the Ryōkai Mandala .............................................................................. 23 Chapter 3: The Japanese Kangiten.................................................................................................... 24 3.1. The Japanese Religious Landscape ................................................................................................ 24 3.1.1. The Introduction of Buddhism and its Art ............................................................................. 24 3.1.2. The Development of Honji Suijaku and Ryōbu Shintō .......................................................... 25 3.1.3. Kūkai and the Ryōkai Mandala .............................................................................................. 26 3.1.4. Shingon and Secrecy .............................................................................................................. 27 3.2. The Japanese Interpretations of Ganeśa ......................................................................................... 28 3.2.1. Demon Vināyakas and Kōjin ................................................................................................. 28 3.2.2. Vināyaka’s Double Nature as Placenta Kōjin ........................................................................ 30 3.2.3. Gaṇapati and the Three Devas Triad ...................................................................................... 31 3.3. The Esoteric Sōshin Kangiten ........................................................................................................ 32 3.3.1. The New Twin Deva .............................................................................................................. 33 3.3.2. Sōshin Kangiten as a Transcendental Esoteric God ............................................................... 34 3.3.3. Rituals and Worship of Sōshin Kangiten ............................................................................... 36 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 41 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................... 44 (19166) 1 Introduction A legend tells that there is a mysterious statue in the Hōkaiji Temple in Kamakura that is able to grant fertility and success to those who pray to it, but also curses those who do not come back show their gratitude afterwards. A young woman who had once prayed for a child to this statue had died shortly after giving birth, which made her unable to make a return visit. Her soul could not find peace until she appeared in the dreams of another woman who lived near the temple shortly after the Second World War. The spirit of the young woman repeatedly appeared at her bedside and asked her to perform a ritual to thank this statue in her stead, which she eventually also did. Afterwards, the young woman appeared once again to thank her and promised that she would be rewarded. The woman who saw this spirit and prayed to the statue for her was the wife of the famous Kawabata Yasunari 川端康 成 (1899-1972), who won the Nobel Prize in 1968, which is one year after these events. He committed suicide on the sixteenth of April four years later, which is also the monthly celebration day of this statue.1 The statue in question shows a male and a female elephant-headed deity in an erotic embrace, and is called
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