Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Yakushi Nyorai is widely known for his power to heal the sick and images of him are found at numerous temples in Japan. When exploring the spread of Yakushi images in Japan, one should not overlook the Tendai Sect and its founder, Saichō. He worshipped Yakushi Nyorai and carved an image of him at the Konpon Chū-dō of Enryakuji Temple (hereafter referred to as the "Konpon Chū-dō image"). The worship of this image spread throughout Japan by means of replicas. In this paper, I surmise the form of the original Konpon Chū-dō image, which is now lost, through textual sources, and also analyze the images though to be its replicas. I believe the original image's characteristics included a height of approximately five shaku and five sun (about 166 cm) as well as red clothing and a gold body. However, there has been disagreement about its mudra since the medieval period. Although recent scholarship has determined this mudra, in this paper I focus on replicas with a different mudra and their variations, arguing that these variations helped the worship of Yakushi to thrive.
Authors: ニシキ, マサノリ, Nishiki, Masanori, 西木, 政統
Language: English
Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7139469623