A Female Deity As the Focus of a Buddhist Ritual: Kichijō Keka at Hōryūji

chapter 4 A Female Deity as the Focus of a Buddhist Ritual: Kichijō Keka at Hōryūji

Chari Pradel*

Introduction

Hōryūji 法隆寺 occupies a special position in the history of Japanese Bud- dhism. As one of the oldest extant temples, it preserves ancient rites and objects. Among the rites, the temple is one of the few that still performs Kichijō keka 吉祥悔過 (lit. “ritual repentance for good fortune”), a ceremony dedicated to a female deity. Some of the buildings in the Western Compound are dated to the late seventh and early eighth centuries, making them the oldest extant examples of wooden architecture in the world. In addition, the temple’s posses- sions include examples of Buddhist sculptures, paintings, and paraphernalia, many of which have been designated National Treasures or Important Cul- tural Properties. The temple’s historical importance was further acknowledged when it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1993.1 For this rea- son, the buildings of theWestern Compound and sculptures on the Kondō 金堂 (Golden Hall)’s altar-platform—especially the bronze sculptures of the Shaka 釈迦 (Sk. Śākyamuni) Triad and the Yakushi 薬師 (Sk. Bhaiṣajyaguru) icon, and the four wooden images of the Shitennō 四天王 (Four Heavenly Kings)—are the focus of a number of publications about ancient Japanese Buddhist art (fig. 4.1).2

* The author would like to thank Prof. Karen Gerhart for organizing and inviting me to partici- pate in the workshop “Women, Rites and Objects in Pre-Modern Japan.”The lively discussions during the workshop greatly enhanced the contents of this paper. I also would like to thank Profs. Sherry Fowler, Karen Gerhart, and Hank Glassman for their comments and suggestions, Ms. Toshiko McCallum for checking the Japanese characters, and Dr. Sara Sumpter for her thorough copyediting. Special thanks to Megan C. Terry, Douglas Leon, John Miranda, and Laura Sanchez, my students at Cal Poly Pomona, for their help with the images. Fieldwork for this study was facilitated by the Short-Term Travel to Japan Grant offered by the Northeast Asia Council and the Japan-US Friendship Commission in winter 2010. 1 See “Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area,” UNESCO World Heritage Centre website, accessed December 30, 2015. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/660/. 2 The Four Heavenly Kings are believed to protect the four cardinal directions. Tamonten 多聞

The historical and artistic importance of the aforementioned sculptures is unquestionable, but surprisingly, their ritual role is now secondary.The only ritual performed at the Golden Hall today focuses on a female deity.3The Shushōe 修正会 (short for Shushōgatsue 修正月会) or NewYears’Service, is dedicated to the Hindu-Buddhist deity, Kichijōten or Kisshōten 吉祥天 (Sk. Śrī-mahādevī), who is associated with good fortune and beauty. This ceremony is known as Kichijō keka and it is performed in the Golden Hall from January 8 to 14.4 During this week-long ceremony, the Heian period (794–1185) wooden images of Kichi- jōten (fig. 4.2) and Bishamonten (fig. 4.3), who is the god of war, warriors, and wealth, and one of the Four Heavenly Kings also known as Tamonten, become the focus of this important service. This essay addresses two related topics: the origins of Kichijō keka in Japan and its performance at Hōryūji. The first part of the essay examines the institu- tion of Kichijō keka and its main purpose. Sources indicate that state-sponsored temples began to perform this ceremony during the Nara period (710–794), a time when Buddhism played a key role in the religious and political agendas of the court.5 Particularly relevant for the subject of this volume is that the insti- tution of this ceremony dedicated to a female Hindu-Buddhist deity seems to be associated with a female emperor (tennō 天皇), who was enthroned twice, first as Kōken 孝謙 (718–770; r. 749–758) and later as Shōtoku 称徳 (r. 764–770).6 During this time, the imperial court was shaping itself as a centralized Buddhist state, and an important component of this process was the establishment of a yearly calendar of ceremonies for the protection of the state. Thus, the first part of this essay proposes that Kichijō keka was instituted to supplement the ceremonies dedicated to the kami deities, with the specific purpose of solving the

天 (Sk. Vaiśravaṇa)—also known as Bishamonten 毘沙門天—is associated with the north; Zōchōten 増長天 (Sk. Virūḍhaka), with the south; Jikokuten 持国天 (Sk. Dhṛtarāṣṭra), with the east and Kōmokuten 広目天 (Sk. Virūpākṣa), with the west. See Frédéric, Buddhism, pp. 241–247. 3 For the ceremonies held at Hōryūji’s Golden Hall, “Nenkan gyōji,” Hōryūji website, accessed October 6, 2017. http://www.horyuji.or.jp/gyouji/. Besides the Kichijō keka, a service is held on January 26 to remember the 1949 fire that damaged the Golden Hall’s mural paintings. 4 The Shushōe of the Eastern Compound or Jōgūōin 上宮王院 is held from January 16 to 18 with Jūichimen keka 十一面悔過 (ritual repentance to Ekādaśamukha Avalokiteśvara or Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara) performed at the Yumedono 夢殿 Hall. 5 For a brief historical overview of the Nara period, see Naoki, “The Nara State.” 6 The term tennō (lit. “Heavenly Sovereign”) is usually translated into English as emperor or empress. Since “empress” (kōgō or kisaki 皇后) refers to the wife of an emperor, the term “female” is added to specify the gender of the emperor, and empress is used only to refer to an emperor’s wife.