A Nichirenite Scroll for Great Bodhisattva Myōken
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Japanese hanging scroll depicting a mandala typical of the Buddhism promoted by Nichiren 日蓮 (1222-82) that includes an iconographic depiction of the divinity Myōken 妙見. This divinity personifies the North Star and in time became a popular secondary referen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | PDF Full Text |
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| Summary: | The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Japanese hanging scroll depicting a mandala typical of the Buddhism promoted by Nichiren 日蓮 (1222-82) that includes an iconographic depiction of the divinity Myōken 妙見. This divinity personifies the North Star and in time became a popular secondary reference point for many followers of Nichiren’s teaching. It is however most unusual for an iconic image to be included in a mandala composed in Nichiren’s style, for they usually consist only of characters, and that is why it is worthy of special consideration. In the sequel, two further Nichirenite examples without images are considered for the sake of additional context in the wider religiosity of Japan. The article includes relevant illustrations. |
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| Physical Description: | 15 Pages |
| DOI: | 10.17192/es2019.0037 |