THE FIVE GREAT SPACE REPOSITORY BODHISATTVAS: LINEAGE, PROTECTION AND CELESTIAL AUTHORITY IN NINTH-CENTURY JAPAN by Copyright 2010 Hillary Eve Pedersen Submitted to the graduate degree program in Art History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________ Sherry Fowler, PhD, Chairperson _______________________________________ Amy McNair, PhD _______________________________________ Maki Kaneko, PhD _______________________________________ Daniel Stevenson, PhD _______________________________________ Eric Rath, PhD Date Defended ______________September 3rd, 2010___________ The Dissertation Committee for Hillary Eve Pedersen certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE FIVE GREAT SPACE REPOSITORY BODHISATTVAS: LINEAGE, PROTECTION AND CELESTIAL AUTHORITY IN NINTH-CENTURY JAPAN Committee: _______________________________________ Sherry Fowler, PhD, Chairperson _______________________________________ Amy McNair, PhD _______________________________________ Maki Kaneko, PhD _______________________________________ Daniel Stevenson, PhD _______________________________________ Eric Rath, PhD Date approved:__________Septermber 3rd, 2010_______________ ii ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the protective role of the Five Great Space Repository Bodhisattva (Godai Kokūzō Bosastu) sculptural pentads in Japan during the mid-ninth-century. While existing art historical scholarship regarding these sculptures emphasizes their stylistic features and production methods, the present study seeks to contextualize the images‟ specific iconographical aspects and ritual functions within the broader multivalent religious environment of early Heian period (794-900) Japan. Sets of these images, the only three known today, were installed in the Esoteric Buddhist temples of Jingoji 神護寺, Anjōji 安祥寺, and Jōganji 貞観寺, each in relation to a different imperial or Fujiwara regent family member, and each under the auspices of a different member from the lineage of Kūkai (空海 744-836), the Shingon Buddhist patriarch. These images were placed in conjunction with other groups of Esoteric Buddhist sculptures at the temples to create larger arrangements that associated their patrons with cosmological rule. In addition, the iconography of the Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu pentad resonates with many features of Chinese- based belief elements, as evidenced in the sculptures‟ color, directional associations, and relations to celestial bodies, features that also connect these imperially-commissioned sculptures to celestial rule and to national protection. This dissertation not only investigates the relatively understudied area of the incorporation of celestial bodies and other features of Chinese-based belief into the iconography of ninth-century Japanese Buddhist sculpture, but also reveals the way in which the imperial family and the Fujiwara regent family utilized the iconographically complex sculptural arrangement of the Five Great Space Repository Bodhisattvas in order to strengthen their political prestige and the authority of their lineages in early Heian period Kyoto. iii This study first traces the iconographical development of single, independent Kokūzō Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩 (Skt. Ākāśagarbha, Ch. Xukongzang, Kn. Heogongjang Bosal) images to the more uncommon arrangement of five. It then examines the Chinese-based belief elements present in most depictions of the sculptural pentad as well as the significance of the configuration at each of the three temples in which it was installed. This dissertation is thus an in-depth study that reveals specific instances of the fluidity between belief systems of early Heian period Japan, and also an exploration of the ways in which different belief systems informed patrons and producers of Japanese religious and visual culture. iv DEDICATION For my parents, Mark and Judy Pedersen, with love and gratitude. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people inspired and assisted me throughout the research and writing of this dissertation. I would first like to thank my primary dissertation advisor, Sherry Fowler, for her sincere encouragement and unfailing support. I am also grateful to my dissertation committee members, Amy McNair, Maki Kaneko, Eric Rath and Daniel Stevenson, who all read drafts of this dissertation and offered constructive comments. These professors have helped me become a better scholar and art historian, not only through assisting me with this project, but also by being academic models for me. I also thank Nedachi Kensuke from Kyoto University, for taking me under his wing for perhaps longer than he expected. With his patient assistance and wealth of knowledge, I was able to access necessary sources and receive valuable advice. I am also grateful to the students of the Aesthetics and Art History department at Kyoto University, particularly Tsutsui Tadahito, Tanaka Ken‟ichi, Ryu Seungjun, Kim Eun-ah, Seo Namyoung and others who helped me with small details and larger issues critical to the completion of my dissertation. I am also grateful to the Hanazono University International Research Institute for Zen Research for providing me with space to work and a venue to publish my research. The Italian School for East Asian Studies has also graciously supported my efforts. Support from several organizations funded my research: the Japanese Monbukagakushō, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, and the University of Kansas summer research fellowship. My participation in the Postgraduate Workshop in Japanese Art History in Norwich and London, as well as the Tōhō Gakkai provided me with venues to present my research, receive feedback, and to meet outstanding colleagues. vi Several scholars have given me valuable input and assistance, including Cynthea Bogel, Kyungwon Choe, Noelle Giuffrida, Katherine Harper, Lena Kim, as well as Michael Jamentz, Catherine Ludvik and other members of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group. Otsuka Yoshio assisted with translations. The kind staff at Jingoji, Zenpukuji and Kashōji kindly welcomed me into their temples and showed me valuable treasures. The faculty, staff and students at the University of Kansas have made my graduate school experience both academically challenging and personally rewarding. I am indebted to my loving and supportive family and friends in Seattle and elsewhere. My parents inspired me to explore the world, while Jake, Joie and Keisik kept my spirits lifted and grounded me when I needed it most. I am especially grateful for my husband Taka, for his constant patience, kindness, humor and love. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1 Early Kokūzō Bosatsu texts, images and imperial authority………………………..…………...17 Chapter 2 The Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu pentad: iconography and synthesis………………………………...72 Chapter 3 The Jingoji Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu…………………………………………………………….114 Chapter 4 The Anjōji Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu……………………………………………………………..171 Chapter 5 The Jōganji Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu……………………………………………………………215 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...………249 Tables and diagrams……………………………………………………………………………254 List of Images..............................................................................................................................268 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………273 viii Introduction During the mid-ninth century, Kyoto witnessed the installation of Five Great Space Repository Bodhisattva sculptures (Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu 五大虚空蔵菩薩) in three imperial temples. Sets of these images, the only three known today, were installed in the Esoteric Buddhist temples of Jingoji 神護寺 (fig. 1), Anjōji 安祥寺 (fig. 2), and Jōganji 貞観寺, each in relation to a different imperial or Fujiwara regent family member, and each under the auspices of a different member from the lineage of Kūkai (空海 744-836), the Shingon Buddhist patriarch. These images were placed in conjunction with other groups of Esoteric Buddhist sculptures at the temples to create larger arrangements that associated their patrons with cosmological rule. In addition, the iconography of the Godai Kokūzō Bosatsu pentad resonates with many features of Chinese- based belief elements, as evidenced in the sculptures‟ color,1 directional associations, and relations to celestial bodies, features that also connect the imperially commissioned sculptures to celestial rule and to national protection. The present study will explore not only the relatively understudied area of the incorporation of celestial bodies and other features of Chinese-based belief in the iconography of ninth-century Japanese Buddhist sculpture, but also to reveal the way in which the imperial family and powerful regents from the Fujiwara family utilized the iconographically complex sculptural arrangement of the Five Great Space Repository Bodhisattvas in order to strengthen their political prestige and authority in early Heian period (794-900) Kyoto. 1 The Jingoji images are currently pigmented, and iconographical texts indicate that the Anjōji sculptures were 1 This study will first trace the iconographical development of single, independent Kokūzō Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩 (Skt. Ākāśagarbha, Ch. Xukongzang, Kn. Heogongjang Bosal)2 images to the more uncommon arrangement of five. It will also examine the Chinese-based belief elements present in most depictions of this configuration, thus contributing to a burgeoning area of scholarship that recognizes