1
‘Windows of Infinity’: With reference to works in a variety of mediums, trace, examine and discuss the employment of mirrors in Heian and Kamakura Buddhist art.
Freddie Matthews
2
“If one upholds the Lotus Sutra
his body will be very pure⋯
And it will be like a pure bright mirror
in which forms and shapes are all reflected.”
-The Lotus Sutra, Chapter 19.
3
This essay traces the employment of mirrors in Heian (794-1185 C.E.) and Kamakura (1185-1333 C.E.)
Buddhist art, illustrating the significance of these objects within the ritualistic, devotional and decorative
religious landscape of the period, as well as their didactic role in articulating emerging patterns of
metaphysical thought and understanding. Examples are taken from a variety of different mediums, and
often united into ‘groups’ for the purpose of illustrating common themes and stylistic variations. Given
that glass mirrors were not introduced to Japan until after the Meiji restoration (1868 C.E.), all reference
to ‘mirrors’ refers to those essentially made of bronze with tin or mercury added to their surface.
The image of the mirror (Jp: Kagami; Ch: Ching; Sk: Adarsa) has a long tradition of philosophical potency
within Buddhist discourse, not just in Chinese and Central Asian sources, but in Indian ones as well.i
Similarly, the ‘Hōkyō’ (Jp: 宝鏡), literally, ‘mirror treasure’, or ‘eye of wisdom’ (智恵の眼) as it came to be
known as in Japan, has been foundational to Japanese cultural identity since its earliest time of formation.
It was not until the Heian (794-1185 C.E.) and Kamakura (1185-1333 C.E.) periods however, that this potent
visual symbol was refined, articulated and propagated within the context of native Buddhist art.
The earliest bronze mirrors to enter Japan are believed to be those imported from Han China (206 B.C.E.-
220 C.E.), often being found in Yayoi tomb excavations where they are considered “symbols of authority;”1
their presence typically indicating the burial of “influential individuals”2 and “important clan leaders.”3ii
During the Kofun period, “there was a considerable increase in the number of buried mirrors”4 found in
Japan illustrating the start of domestic mirror production, which emerged alongside a sustained flow of
Chinese importations.5iii Rather than simple vanity implements however, these mirrors carried profound
spiritual significance within Japan, for when united with the sword (Jp: 草薙劍) and magatama jewel (Jp:
八尺瓊曲玉); the mirror completed the ‘Sanshu no jingi’ (Jp: 三種の神器; ‘Three Sacred Treasures’/
‘Imperial Regalia’) of classical Japanese mythology. iv
1 Harris, Victor; Smith, Lawrence; and Clark, Timothy. 1990. Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum. British Museum Publications, London., p. 138 2 Kakuda, Yoshiko. 1991. The Art of Japan: Masterworks in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco., p. 52. 3 Cunningham, Michael R. Eds. 1998. Buddhist Treasures from Nara. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Hudson Hills Press, New York., p. 176. 4 Kakuda. Op cit., p. 53. 5 Yoshikawa, Itsuji. 1976. Major Themes in Japanese Art. Nikovskis, Amins (Trans). Heibonsha, Tokyo., p. 16.
4
Despite this, the spiritual efficacy of these mirrors was largely considered to reside in their continental
sources, and it was not long until Buddhist concepts and ideas began to accompany them from abroad. By
the Asuka (538-710 C.E.) and certainly Nara (710-794 C.E.) period, Buddhism had captured the Japanese
spiritual imagination. Reliant though on their Western neighbours for initiation into this captivating
doctrine, “full scale borrowing from China”6 took place in this period, leading to the ‘official’ brand of
Buddhism eventually established in Nara in the 8th century being, “little more than a transplantation of
Chinese forms to Japan.”7 Central to this essay, these Buddhist 'foundations’ were that of the ‘Huayan’
(‘Flower Garland’) school (Ch: 華嚴宗; Jp: けごん; ‘Kegon’); a sect that was “emphatic about the inter-
penetrability or mutual identification among all phenomena,”8 with the image of the mirror residing at the
very centre of its universalistic creed.v
The popularity of this school back in China stemmed from a peculiar fascination on behalf of the Chinese
Imperial court, of “all things mirror-related.”9vi See FIG. 1a. Most notorious of these rulers was Empress
Wu Zetian (624-705 C.E.); the self-appointed ‘Chakravartin’ (Buddhist Universal Ruler) of the Tang
dynasty (618-906 C.E.), whose “unabated passion for mirrored spaces,”10 was cultivated by her Buddhist
preceptor Fazang (643-712 C.E.); himself the “founder of Huayan orthodoxy”11 who eminently taught his
students the concepts of ‘Interpenetration’ and ‘Interdependence’ using a circular mirror installation, such
as the one shown in FIG. 1b. Schlombs has celebrated this metaphorical device as; “The concrete expression
of the most important insights of this philosophy: [that is] nothing exists independently of other things, the
part and the whole are standing in a relationship of mutual interdependence.”12 Given the prolific
construction of countless such mirror halls in Chinese temples after this point (such as at the Jianfu
Monastery in the Tang capital of Chang’an13), future generations of Japanese monks travelling to China
would no doubt have been saturated by this compelling metaphysical conception during their stay on the
continent.
6 Kobayashi, Takeshi. 1975. Nara Buddhist Art: Todai-ji. Gage. Gage, Richard L (Trans). Weatherhill, New York., p. 11. 7 Dobbins, James C, in Seattle Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue. 1987. A Thousand Cranes: Treasures of Japanese Art. Chronicle Books, San Francisco., p. 31. 8 Wang, Eugene Yuejin. 2007. Shaping the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Visual Culture in Medieval China. University of Washington Press., p. 257. 9 Ibid., p. 256. 10 Ibid., p. 259. 11 Hamar, Imre. 2007. Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. xvii. 12 Schlombs, Herausgegben von Adele. 1999. In Licht des Groben Buddha: Schatze des Todaiji Tempels, Nara. Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst der Stadt Koln., p. 48. 13 Wang, Op cit., p. 257.
5
FIG. 1a: Example of court and religious usage of mirror-halls. Woodblock print illustration of chapter 31 of ‘The Romance of Emperor Yang of Sui’. Chinese Ming Dynasty; 1631. Rale Book Collection, Harvard-Yenching Library. In Wang, (2007), p. 258 FIG. 1b: Modern reconstruction of Fazang’s mirror installation by Boston artist, Victoria I. Based on the medieval Chinese description. In Wang, (2007), p. 259.
FIG. 2: The Mahāvairocana statue of Tōdaoiji seen through the doors of the Great Buddha Hall. Detail from the picture scroll entitled ‘Shigisan Engi ‘Legends of Shigisan Temple’, Late Heian Period; 12th Century. In Mason, (2005). p.69.
6
The mirror’s pivotal importance to the Huayan/Kegon brand of Buddhism imported to Nara is epitomized
by the fact that, not only was the actual statue of Mahāvairocana at Tōdaoiji (東大寺) substantially
composed of several thousand melted down bronze mirrors, but also that in a picture scroll dated to the late
Heian period entitled, ‘Shigisan Engi’ (‘Legends of Shigisan Temple’), we find the statue clearly flanked by
two circular mirrors either side of a lantern at its base.vii See FIG. 2. The dating of this picture scroll is
evidence enough that by the time of Heian period, the doctrinal centrality of the mirror had been faithfully
sustained in Japan. Furthermore, unlike during the somewhat ‘spiritually superficial’ Nara period, the
Heian period gave rise to a wealth of discourses on key Buddhist themes and ideas, with the mirror image
frequently at their centre. In his seminal treatise Benkenmitsu nikōron (‘Distinguishing the Two Teachings
of the Exoteric and Esoteric’), the Shingon (真言宗) monk Kūkai (774-835 C.E.) noted that through the
mirror’s reflection, subject and object, self and other, become “mutually interactive and mutually
constructing.”14 This statement alone demonstrates that in the poetic landscape of the Heian period, the
mirrors’ metaphorical symbolism had been readily assimilated into contemporary Buddhist discourse.
With this in mind, it is tantalizing to consider the abundance of ‘repetition/reflection motifs’ appearing
throughout the entire trajectory of Heian Buddhist art. Indeed, as Eugene Wang has claimed, it is “no
coincidence” that multiple limbed depictions of Avalokiteśvara (Jp: Kannon; 観音) originating in India,
“suddenly gained popularity at this time,”15viii in light of the mirror’s symbolic potency throughout East
Asian Buddhist discourse. With explicit clarity, the very concept of ‘infinite repetitions through a singular
reflection’ was elicited through the 1000 identical ‘reflections’ of a single Avalokiteśvara sculpture (totaling
1001 statues) constructed at the Sanjūsangendō Temple (三十三間堂) in the Heian capital of modern day
Kyotō. See FIG. 3. At this point also, it is relevant to note that the mirror is one of the key attributes of
Senju Kannon, who carries it, “in her fifth right hand.”16 See FIG. 4a-c. One 12th century painting of this
Bodhisattva depicts this attribute with exquisite finesse, although leaving the reflection of its face ‘empty’,
almost as if referencing Avalokiteśvara’s pivotal words to Śāriputra in the Heart Sutra; ‘Form is emptiness,
emptiness form.’ See FIG. 4b. Similarly, the mirror is the “distinctive attribute of Ashuku Nyorai,”
(Akshobhya Buddha), embodying his unshakeable ‘Mirror Knowledge’ (Jp: daienkyōchi). 17 However, like
14 Kūkai, in Bogel, Cynthea J. 2009. With a Single Glanze: Buddhist Icon and Early Mikkyō Vision. University of Washington Press., p. 37. 15 Wang. Op cit., p. 257. 16 Saunders, E. Dale. 1985. Mudrā: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture. Princeton University Press. P. 253. 17 Saunders. Op cit., p. 165.
7
so many mirrors across East Asian Buddhist art history, this attribute is often mistaken as a ‘moon-disk’ (Jp:
Gachirin; 月輪 ) or ‘sun-disk’ (Jp: Nichirin; 日輪)..ix
FIG. 3: 1001 Sculptures of the Bodhisattva Kannon (Jp: 観音; Sk: Avalokiteśvara). Sanjūsangendō Temple (Jp: 三十三間堂). Kyotō; Late Heian period. Photograph: ‘Sea of Buddhas’, 1995. Hiroshi Sugimoto.
8
FIG. 4a-b: Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja) with detail of mirror attribute. Paint and gilt on paper. 138 x 69.4 cm. Heian Period; 12th century. Tokyo National Museum. FIG. 4c: Illustration of Kannon’s mirror attribute. In Rambach (1979), p. 125.
The physical forms of mirrors manufactured throughout the Heian period (as well as some from the early
Kamakura period) were largely informed by Chinese counterparts. A group of examples dating to the Heian
period (See FIG. 5c-h) embody the same circular bronze form as was popular throughout the Tang dynasty
(See FIG. 5a), its style almost unmodified since the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.). Whilst the backs of
these mirrors typically portrayed auspicious animal, vegetal and floral motifs in relief (sometimes
illustrative of their points of origin), the fronts were generally plain, with tin (sometimes with mercury
added) applied to the surface to increase their reflective capacity.x As Yukio Umeda has noted of such
9
mirrors, this surface “needed to be re-polished over and over again,”18 begging the question of whether
mirror maintenance was in fact a means of generating spiritual merit in Heian-Kamakura Japan.
One quality of these ostensibly ‘simple’ devices often overlooked by art-historians is their optical capacities
under certain light conditions. Fascinatingly, when illuminated by a parallel light source (and when the
reflected beam is intersected by a screen), these mirrors held the power to illuminate an entire artwork onto
a flat wall, much like a modern projector. See FIG. 5b. This phenomenon only further propelled reverence
for them as ‘Makyoh’ (lit; ‘magic mirrors’).xi
18 Umeda, Yukio. 1992. 17th Century Japan: A Time of Mystery and Isolation: 120 Paintings by Yusetsu Kaiho. Kyowa Kikaku Ltd, Tokyo. P. 113.
10
From top left to bottom right:
FIG. 5a: Tang Mirror. White bronze. D: 31.7cm. China; 8th Century. Kyoto National Museum. FIG. 5b: Example of a ‘Makyoh’ (Japanese magic mirror) projecting its relief patterning onto a wall. Credit: www.docbug.com FIG. 5c: Mirror. Bronze. D: 9.4 cm. Heian period. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. FIG. 5d: Haguro-kyô Mirror. Bronze. D: 10.8 cm. Heian period; 12th century. Ibid. FIG. 5e: Mirror With Decoration of Flying Birds and Fishnets. Bronze. D: 10.1 cm. Heian period; 12th century. Ibid. FIG. 5f: Mirror. Bronze. D: 10.8 cm. Heian period; 900–1185 C.E. Ibid. FIG. 5g: Haguro-kyô Mirror with Relief Design of Birds, Foliage, and Water. Bronze. D: 11.4 cm. Heian period; 12th century. Ibid. FIG. 5h: Mirror with Cranes. Bronze. D: 11.2cm. Late Heian period; 12th Century. The British Museum, London.
11
It was perhaps for their perceived ‘magical’ ability of manipulating light into form, that in the late Heian
period, the faces of such mirrors were often inscribed with images of Amitābha (Jp: Amida Butsu;
阿弥陀仏); ‘The Buddha of Infinite Light.’ Felicitous also, is the fact that these mirrors were the very first
canvases for depictions of Amida Raigô (‘The Descent of Amida’) in Japan; preceding both painted and
sculptural representations.19 See FIG. 6c. These ‘Amidist’ inscribed mirrors also illustrate how during the
Middle Heian period, “the focus of aristocratic worship…shifted from Dainichi Nyorai and the mandalas of
Shingon Buddhism to a belief in rebirth in the Western Paradise,”20 marking the dawn of ‘Mappō’ (the
‘degenerate’ ‘Third Age’ of Buddhism)xii and thus, “a new seriousness in Buddhist matters.”21
From top left to bottom left:
FIG. 6a: Mirror with hair-line engraved image of Amitābha and twelve Buddhas. Bronze. Heian period; 12th century. D: 14.1 cm. Tokyo National Museum. FIG. 6b: Mirror with incised image of Amitābha. Bronze. D: 20.5 cm. Heian period; 12th century. Nara National Museum. FIG. 6c: Mirror with line-engraved designs of Raigo (descent) of Amida (Amitābha) Triad. From Sutra Mound No.3 at Asama-yama, Ise-shi, Mie. Heian period. Cast bronze. D: 12.3cm. In Okazaki, et al, (1977). p. 109.
Whether native or continental, these mirrors, once
19 Okazaki, J�ji and Grotenhuis, Elizabeth ten (trans). 1977. Pure Land Buddhist Painting. Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo., pp., 109-110. 20 Mason, Penelope. 2005. History of Japanese Art (Second Edition). Pearson Prentice Hall., p. 142. 21 Ibid., p. 122.
12
engraved, became known as kyozo and were used across the six established Nara schools, as well in the
nascent Shingon (真言宗) and Tendai (天台宗) schools, as part of rituals such as inbutsu saho.22 The mirror
was also an essential implement within the Shingon ‘denbo kanjo’ initiation ritual,xiii whereby it came to
symbolize, “the transformation of the initiate into Mahavairocana's adamantine body-mind.”23xiv
Pertinently, such semiotics led to Dainichi Nyorai, (Vairocana) increasingly depicted in the form of an
austere, circular bronze mirror inscribed simply with his seed syllables. An example of this can be found in a
gilt/tinned bronze depiction of the Ryōkai Mandara (‘Mandalas of the Two Worlds’), dating to the early
Kamakura period. See FIG. 7a-d.
22 London Gallery, Ltd (Ed). 2000. Buddha’s Smile: Masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist Art. London Gallery, Ltd, Tokyo., p. 114. 23 Rambelli, Fabio. 2002. ‘The Ritual World of Buddhist "Shinto": The Reikiki and Initiations on Kami-Related Matters (Jingi kanj�) in Late Medieval and Early-Modern Japan’. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies., p. 269.
13
FIG. 7a-b: ‘Ryōkai Mandara’; Mandala of Garbhadhātu (Jp: 胎蔵曼; taizōkai) and Vajradhātu (Jp: 金剛界; kongōkai). Gilt bronze. Kamakura period. Garbhadhatu: 107.3 x 91.6cm; Vajradhatu: 108.3 x 92cm. Tokyo National Museum. FIG. 7c-d: The seed syllables of ‘A’ and ‘Va’ representing Mahāvairocana in the Garbhadhātu Mandala and Vajradhātu Mandala respectively. Gilt bronze. Kamakura period. In Shashibala, (2003), p. 104.
14
The association between Vairocana and the mirror is a powerful one. Within the Vairocanābhisambodhi-
sutra (Jp: Dainichi-kyō), one of the core texts of the Shingon tradition, the mirror is a pivotal image
frequently adopted as a key philosophical device for achieving union with the Buddha’s celestial body. As the
text dictates:
“The mantra-reciting practitioner [should take] a clear mirror [to realize] the state of utter
purity, unsullied, stable, unmoving/ Non-differentiating like a mirror… In the middle of a
perfectly full lunar disc, unsullied like a clear mirror: There the honored mantra world-savior
always resides… With this eye of wisdom one realizes that the mind is [that] bright mirror.”24
These words articulate the mirror as the ultimate visual locus of Vairocana, the “fundamental unity
(samatā) of manifest reality,”25 where subject and object, reflection and reality, melt into one
undifferentiated whole. As is stated in this prodigious Tantric text:
“Just as a face in dependence on a mirror manifests an image of the face, so too should one
understand siddhi [produced by] mantras…If [the practitioner] meditates, practices, and inter-
corresponds [with the deity]/ Then his own deity and the image of his own person will both
appear [as one].”26xv
FIG. 8a represents the type of mirror probably used in these types of esoteric initiation. Dating to the
Kamakura period, there is a clear departure in the design of this robust mirror from the floral/vegetal motifs
usually displayed in relief on the reverse side, instead portraying the seed syllables of Vairocana, ‘Vam’ and
‘A’, floating in empty space above a world of bobbing forms. The detail of this example is clearly more
elaborate than earlier examples with its central loop fixture (which often took the form of a turtle’s back in
contemporary Chinese mirrors) transformed into the sacred ‘flaming jewel’ of Buddhism. See FIG. 8a.
Despite this (and considering its sacred imagery), it was likely to have been displayed on a stand, such as
one found inside a wooden statue of Kannon in the early 13th century. See FIG. 8b. Furthermore, its
meticulous detail suggests it was cast using the lost-wax method, as opposed to the more traditional clay
mould.
24 Passages from The Vairocanābhisambodhi-sutra. 25 Saunders., Op cit. p. 19. 26 Passages from The Vairocanābhisambodhi-sutra
15
FIG. 8a: Mirror with Sanskrit Letters of Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana) in the Two Realms. Gilded bronze. D: 21.5CM. Kamakura period. In London Gallery, Ltd (Ed). (2000), p. 119. FIG. 8b: Bronze mirror with wooden stand. Kamakura period; 1217-1229. In Jarrige, et al, (1996). p. 149.
During the Kamakura era, it appeared that the doctrinal preoccupation with mirrors was influenced
temple decoration as well. Characteristic of this were kakebotoke; bronze votive plaques hung from the
ceilings of temples which refracted light in all directions as they levitated above people’s heads. Whilst the
form of these kakebotoke was clearly adapted from the more ‘conventional’ hanging mirrors of the Heian,
in the Kamakura period these ‘Hanging Buddhas’ acquired their own unique status as sōgon (sacred
temple decoration), epitomizing the growing confidence and developments of Buddhist art (as well as
doctrine) in this critical period of Japanese history.xvi There was a gradual progression in the aesthetic
dimensions of these objects also, moving from deity designs in shallow relief to those executed in deep,
almost sculptured relief. An example of this is a 13th century kakebotoke depicting Juuichimen Kannon
(Jp: 十一面観音; Sk: Ekadasakamuhka), Bishamonten (Jp: 毘沙門; Sk: Vaiśravana), and Fudo (Jp:
不動明王; Sk: Ācala) (See FIG. 9g), all seated upon half moon lotus bases similar to the wooden one
found supporting the mirror in FIG. 8b. With an interesting degree counterbalance, where wood was
replacing metal in the temple sculptures of Japan, a unique form of metal sculpture emerged in the form of
such kakebotoke.xvii
16
From top left to bottom right:
FIG. 9a: Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya) Kakebotoke. Heian-Kamakura period. Gilded bronze. D: 19cm. Private collection. In London Gallery, Ltd (Ed). (2000), p. 131. FIG. 9b: Amida Nyorai (Amitābha) Kakebotoke. Heian-Kamakura period. Gilded bronze. D: 13.2cm. Ibid, p. 130. FIG. 9c: Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaisajyaguru) Kakebotoke. Kamakura period. Gilded bronze. D: 24.5cm. Ibid, p. 132. FIG. 9d: Jizo Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha) Kakebotoke. Kamakura period. Gilded bronze. D: 23.5cm. Ibid, p. 133. FIG. 9e: Juichimen Kannon (Ekadasamukha) Kakebotoke. Kamakura period. Gilded bronze. D: 72cm. Private collection. Ibid, p. 135. FIG. 9f: Dhyani Buddhas Kakebotoke. Gilt bronze. D: 36 cm. Kamakura period; 1252-1264 C.E. (Inscribed). Nara National Museum.
Above: FIG. 9g: Kakebotoke with images of Eleven-headed Kannon, Bishamonten, and Fudo. Gilt bronze. D: 29.9cm. Kamakura period; 1252-1264. (Inscribed). Private collection, Kyoto. In Katonah Museum of Art, (1996). Fig: 9.
17
A similar decorative device (sōgon) also evident in the Kamakura period was the mirrored tengai (‘Hanging
Canopy’), such as one made of painted wood and bronze currently residing at the British Museum. See FIG.
10a. It adopts a circular bronze mirror at its centre and is surrounded by eight smaller mirrors on each of its
lotus petals, similar to an earlier tengai found in the Hokke-do (Lotus Hall) of Tōdai-ji (東大寺). See FIG.
10b. Intriguingly, both tengai echo a Chinese medieval tomb tradition, whereby between the tenth and
fourteenth century, mirrors were set into the centres of painted lotuses upon the ceilings of burial chambers.27
Perhaps in the context of medieval Japanese Buddhism, such devices came to embody memento mori-
reminders of the core Buddhist teaching of impermanence (Sk: Anitya; Jp: 無常 Mujō).
From top left to bottom right: FIG. 10a: Hanging Canopy, (tengai). Painted wood and bronze. Kamakura period; 14th century C.E. The British Museum, London. FIG. 10b: Hanging Canopy, (tengai). Hokke-do (Lotus Hall), Todai-ji. Painted wood and bronze. D: 14.5cm. Nara period; 9th Century C.E. In Schlombs, (1999), p. 128. FIG. 10c: Mirrored ceiling of the tomb of Zhang Kuangzheng. Chinese Song Dynasty; 1093. In Chuimei Ho, (2005), p. 96.
27 Ho, Chuimei. 2005. ‘Magic and Faith: Reflections on Chinese Mirrors in the Tenth to the Fourteenth Century’. Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, Vol., p. 90.
18
One of the most arresting metaphysical employments of the mirror image in the Kamakura period however,
can be found in a painting of Kokūzō Bosatsu (虚空蔵菩薩; Sk: Akasagarbha Bodhisattva) which dates to the
13th century. xviii See FIG. 11a. In it, we find the Bodhisattva Kokūzō (lit: ‘Space Repository’), seated on a lotus
flower, bejeweled, and floating above a mountain peak. Importantly, this image epitomizes the syncretic
nature of religious art at this time, blending elements of Kegon, Tendai, Shingon, Mikkyō, and even Shinto
beliefs, in that Akashagarbha was considered a Buddhist manifestation of the mountain deity, Asama
Daimyojin.28
Holding a wish-fulfilling jewel (Jp: Nyoi-hoju), and wearing a crown symbolizing the five wisdom Buddhas,
golden rays of light spread in all directions from Kokūzō’s central figure. Harris and Smith have eloquently
noted that such cosmic imagery implies, “the non-duality of phenomenal Time and the ‘vast nothingness' of
Buddhist enlightenment,” as well as “the power of boundless and timeless space to provide enlightenment to
human beings.”29 Nonetheless, they withdraw from speculating on how such a transcendental vision may have
been physically conceived. Considering its established significance within Buddhist discourse of this period, it
is sensible to deduce that in this case, Kokūzō has been visualized in the form of an enclosed circular mirror,xix
reflecting and refracting enclosed light-rays ad-infinitum, in a conception which resembles the great Indian
imagery of ‘Indra’s Net’.
With regards to the geometrical exactitude of its composition, it appears as if this singular light source
penetrates Kokūzō’s lunar disk from its lowest point (the mountain peak), reflecting and refracting itself
inside without exit, similar to the ‘Total Internal Reflection’ optical phenomenon demonstrated in FIG. 11b;
with the resultant image resembling a star. Furthermore, the fact that the beam of light appears to be raised at
certain intervals along its path, suggests that gold foil (quite literally) may have been placed at the centre of a
bronze mirror in the conception of this painting. See FIG. 11d. Whilst such a claim may appear audacious,
one may note that similar mappings of the optical idiosyncrasies of light, (as well as the discipline of ‘Sacred
Geometry’) was a topic that future Buddhists of the Edo period would investigate voraciously.30
28 Nicoloff, Philip. 2007. Sacred Kōyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kōbō Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha. State University of New York Press. P. 49. 29 Harris., Op cit. p. 42. 30 See, Hidetoshi and Rothman. 2008. Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry. Princeton University Press.
19
FIG. 11a: Kokūzō Bosatsu (Akasagarbha). Kamakura period; 13th century. Paint, ink and gold on paper. 108 x 60.8 cm. Tokyo National Museum.
20
FIG. 11b-d: Painting of Kokūzō Bosatsu alongside demonstrations of the ‘Total Internal Reflection’ optical phenomenon within a circular mirror. FIG 11d illustrates how the addition of a piece of gold foil in the centre divides the light at different gradients. Credit: Balint Bolygo.
As this essay has examined, the image of the mirror (as both motif and physical object) was central to the
development of Heian and Kamakura Buddhist art, its reflective qualities going hand-in-hand with the
imagery of light, which so deeply permeated Buddhist discourse throughout these two periods. Furthermore,
the abundance of mirrors dated to (and manufactured within) the Heian and Kamakura periods must not be
overlooked by art historians, who have hitherto regarded them simply as vanity implements of continental
heritage. As this essay has also demonstrated, mirrors are a useful bridge for art historians wishing to
traverse the three traditional classifications of Japanese Buddhist art: sōgon, raihai, and kyōka; namely,
interior temple decoration, objects of worship, and didactic items for teaching Buddhism.31
31 Kakuda., Op cit., p. 78.
21
The subtle and unassertive quality of the mirror characterizes the Buddhist faith’s ability to “teach
wordlessly,”32 such as is found in the famous ‘Flower Sermon’ whereby truth is represented not in words, but
by the simple smile of Buddha’s oldest disciple.xx Similar to the Dharma Wheel, the Lotus Flower and the
Thunderbolt, the simple dynamics of the Mirror conveys with profound lucidity key Buddhist concepts and
ideals, through a symbolism that is at once tangible, immanent and very real. For this, it should be
acknowledged as a pivotal motif in the trajectory of Japanese Buddhist art.
32 Barnet, Sylvan. In London Gallery, Ltd (Ed). 2000. Buddha’s Smile: Masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist Art. London Gallery, Ltd, Tokyo. p. 2.
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Cahill, Suzanne E. ‘The Moon Stopping in the Void: Daoism and the Literati Ideal in Mirrors of the Tang Dynasty’. Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 9, Clarity and Luster: New Light on Bronze Mirrors in Tang and Post-Tang Dynasty China, 600-1300: Papers from a Symposium on the Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors at the Cleveland Museum of Art (2005), pp.24-41. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20079751. Accessed: 09/05/2012 11:34 Kakuzo, Okakura’. ‘Chinese and Japanese Mirrors’. Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 32 (Apr., 1908), pp. 9-14. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4423378. Accessed: 09/05/2012 11:34 Ho, Chuimei. ‘Magic and Faith: Reflections on Chinese Mirrors in the Tenth to the Fourteenth Century’. Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 9, Papers from a Symposium on the Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors at the Cleveland Museum of Art (2005), pp.90-97. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20079754. Accessed: 09/05/2012 11:33 Sawada, Masaaki. ‘Non-Destructive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Ancient Bronze Mirrors Excavated in Japan’. Ars Orientalis, Vol. 11 (1979), pp. 195-213. Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History of Art, University of Michigan Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4629304. Accessed: 09/05/2012 11:32 Rambelli, Fabio. ‘The Ritual World of Buddhist "Shinto": The Reikiki and Initiations on Kami-Related Matters (Jingi kanjō) in Late Medieval and Early-Modern Japan’. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. Vol. 29, No. 3/4, Tracing Shinto in the History of Kami Worship (Fall, 2002), pp. 265-297. Nanzan University. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30233724 Accessed: 22/05/2012 12:19 Ramanujan, A. K. ‘Where Mirrors Are Windows: Toward an Anthology of Reflections.’ History of Religions, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Feb., 1989), pp. 187-216 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062747 Accessed: 29/05/2012 08:19 Gregory, Peter N. ‘Chinese Buddhist Hermeneutics: The Case of Hua-yen.’ Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Jun., 1983), pp. 231-249. Oxford University Press. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1463636 Accessed: 29/05/2012 10:19 Maryon, Herbert. ‘A Note on Magic Mirrors’. Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America Vol. 17, (1963), pp. 26-28
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Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20067057 Accessed: 19/05/2012 09:34 Online Sources The British Museum: The History of the World in a 100 Objects. ‘Japanese Bronze Mirror’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/81fJfecfSFea12920ZIfAw The Prajña Paramita [The Heart Sutra]. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Tsang of the Tang Dynasty, (Trans). Commentary by Grand Master Tan Hsu. http://buddhasutra.com/files/prajna_paramita.htm Oriental magic mirrors and the Laplacian image. European journal of physics. www.phy.bris.ac.uk/people/Berry_mv/the_papers/berry383.pdf ‘Objects, Symbols, and Weapons held by 1000-Armed Kannon & Other Buddhist Deities.’ http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/objects-symbols-weapons-senju.html#mirro The Vairocanabhisambodhi-Sutra. Translated from the Chinese (Taisho: Volume 18, Number 848) by Rolf W. Giebel. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2005. https://www.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_T0848_Vairocana_2005.pdf
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Appendix: Endnotes
i Within the Sarvastivadan, Smtyupasthāna Sūtra (Ch: Zhenfa nianchu jing; 念處經), which had been translated from the Sanskrit into Chinese by Prajñ�ruci in 539 C.E., during the Northern Wei period (534-550 C.E.), there is a lengthy description of a ‘gigantic mirror hall’ constructed by K�syapa Buddha, in which lord Indra takes the devas on a tour of, “for pedagogical purposes.” (Wang, 2007. P. 256.). As Ramanujan adds, “Mirror on mirror. Doubles, shadow worlds, upside-down reflections, are common in Indian myth and story.” (Ramanujan, 1989. p. 187.) ii The fact that these mirrors were also found alongside ritual dōtaku bells suggests that they have always been infused with religious significance in Japan. (Harris et al, 1990. p. 138.) iii Kofun craftsmen frequently imitated Chinese forms on native mirrors though largely oblivious to the meaning of certain motifs and characters. (Harris et al, 1990. p. 138.) iv The Sun Goddess Amaterasu (天照), is said to have sent her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto (Jp: 瓊瓊杵尊) to the earth with the mirror and the words; "This mirror-have it with you as my spirit and worship it just as you would worship in my very presence." This original mirror is said to reside at the Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮) in Mie Prefecture. v The Avatamsaka-sūtra (the key text of the Huayan/Kegon school) mentions variations of the word ‘reflect’ at least nineteen times. As Hamar has noted of this sutra; “As if refracted through a prism…Buddhas and bodhisattvas appear as mirror images of one another.” (Hamar, 2007. P. 132.) vi Gao Wei (r.565-76), the second Northern Qi ruler, was said to have been, “infatuated with mirrors… building a mirror hall unrivaled in his time.” (Eugene Wang, 2007. p. 256.). Likewise, Prince Yang Jun, the third son of Emperor Yang Jian (541-604) of the Sui dynasty...built a ‘water hall’ with ‘bright mirrors covering its beams, posts, lintels, and ridgepoles.’ (Wang, 2007. P. 256.). vii This can be confirmed by looking at mirrors still placed at the base pedestals of Buddha statuse at T�dai-ji to this day. See photograph of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha in images Appendix for an example. viii Fazang alledgedly designed a contraption that used eleven mirrors to project the image of Guanyin far into the distance to scare away enemy armies, and furthermore, how depictions of 11 headed Guanyin simultaneously gained popularity at this time. (Wang, 2007. p. 257) ix The sun, the moon and the mirror are often interchangeable images in East Asia, sometimes symbolizing eternity. (See (Cahill, 2005. P. 33) As a 7th Century Chinese poem notes; “In Resembling the moon stopping in the void…All may be held in [the mirror’s] reflection.” (Cahill, 2005. P. 33.). Also, in the Vairocanabhisam ̣bodhi-sutra (the core text of Shingon Buddhism) the moon is frequently equated with the mirror.
xi However, it was not until the Edo period that these qualities were fully utilized, often to conceal ‘hidden’ Christian images in their relief patterning. xii Believed by the Japanese Buddhist community to commence in 1052 C.E.
xiv Notably, at the end of this ceremony the master intones the words:"On the head of the initiate there is the letter kham. It puts forth an intense light. On its center there is a lunar disk, and on it there is the letter vam.... On the same lunar disk of the mind there is the letter A. It turns into the sacred mirror.” (In Rambelli, 2002. P. 273.). xv The Vairocanabhisam ̣bodhi-sutra also states: “As for the second base of the Perfectly Awakened One, in a mirror[like] mandala (circle) … [Like an image reflected] in a round mirror in a deep recess, it manifests itself in all places … And it appears everywhere before beings like the moon [reflected] in clear water … It is always present [like] a round mirror, unsullied, wondrous, and pure.” xvi Including a new preoccupation of light and its manipulation, epitomized by the introduction of crystal eyes/urnas to wooden statues in the Kamakura period. xvii Although many wooden kakebotoke do also exist. See Appendix images. xviii As “one of the two guardians of Vairochana.” (McArthur, 2002. p. 49.), [the other being Jizō Bodhisattva; lit: ‘Earth Repository’] Kok�z� was believed to permeate the universe in the form of “vast and boundless" Buddha wisdom. According to Japan's Shingon sect, K�kai acheived enlightenment at dawn on Cape Muroto when Kok�z� appeared in the form of the morning star and rushed at his mouth like an arrow. (See Nicoloff, 2007. P. 36.). Kok�z� was also central to an esoteric rite to improve one's memory known as Gubunjihō (求聞持法; Ch: Qiúwén chífǎ). xix Or at the very least, a “full lunar disc, unsullied like a clear mirror” such as is mentioned in the Vairocanabhisam ̣bodhi-sutra. xx In this ‘silent’ Sutra, upon being presented with a flower from Shakyamuni, his disciple Ka�yapa simply smiled, to which the Buddha pronounced; “The True Dharma Eye, the Marvelous Mind of Nirvana, the True Form of the Formless, the Subtle Dharma Gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.” (In Dumoulin, 2005. p. 9.).
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Appendix: Significant Subsidiary Images
Image Description Image Description
Bronze Mirror with five ‘jingles’. Middle Kofun period; 5th century C.E. The British Museum, London.
Bronze mirror decorated with ‘chokkomon’ pattern. D: 28cm. Kofun period; 4th century C.E. Niiyama Tomb, Koryo, Nara prefecture.
Bronze Mirror. Kofun period; 4th–5th century C.E. D: 20.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Iconographical Drawing of Askuka holding his mirror attribute. In Saunders, 1985. p. 165.
Seed Letter ‘Bhah’ of Sakyamuni. Frontispiece to Chapter 14, Lotus Sutra. One of thirty-three handscrolls donated by Taira clan. H: 28.4cm. Heian period; 1164 C.E. In Rosenfield, 2011. Fig: 20.
Amida Triad, Tachibana Shrine. Bronze. Nara Period. Eugene Wang suggests that the mirror was the “perceptual model” for the Tachibana Shrine at Horyu-ji. When placed inside its enclosed shrine, the Amitabha Triad is framed in a demarcated way whereby “one can look into the shrine only by assuming an eye-level view vis-a-vis the images inside, in the same way one looks into a mirror.” He continues to note that the deliberate “mirroring relationship” between the viewer and a Buddhist deity was “well articulated in the seventh-century texts.” (Eugene Wang, 2007, p. 285.)
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Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaisajyaguru). H: 254.6cm. Nara period; 688 C.E. Yakushi Monastery, Nara. Note the two circular mirrors facing the Buddha on the altar.
Bronze Mirrors Excavated from Mitarashi Pond at Hagurosan, Yamagata. D. 7.7-11.2.cm. Heian Period; 12th century. Tokyo National Museum. As Neil MacGregor of the British Museum has noted, throwing mirrors in sacred ponds was a tradition carried out throughout the Heian period.
Mirror with the hair-line engraved iamge of Amitabha and twelve Buddhas. Cast bronze. D: 14.1cm. Heian period, 12th century. Tokyo National Museum.
Kakebotoke of Bodhisattva. Gilt bronze. D: 22cm. Kamakura period; 13th century. Nara National Museum.
Kakebotoke found inside a statue of Daikoku-ten (Mahakala). Wood. H: 82.7cm. Kamakura period, 13th century. Saidai-ji temple.
Kakebotoke of Daiitoku Myōō (Vidyaraja). Gilt bronze and wood; reportedly from Wakayama Prefecture. D: 28cm. Kamakura period; 12th-13th century; The Avery Brundage Collection. In Rosenfield, 2011, Fig: 34.
Departure from Kashima. (Shinto). Hanging scroll. Ink and colours on silk. 1300-1400 C.E. Asian Art Museum, California.
Scenes from the ‘Rokudo-e’ (Six Realms of Birth)’ Scroll. Hanging scroll. Ink and colour on paper. 152.6 x 67 cm. 19th century copy of a 13th century original. The British Museum, London. Importantly, in ‘Judgement’ scenes such as these, the mirror is used to determine ones’ destiny in the afterlife through reflecting ones’ deeds and wrongdoings in the previous life.
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Round Mirror Box. Hiramakie and mother-of-pearl inlay. Kamakura period. The British Museum, London.
Ashuku Nyorai, Guardian of the East, in the Kongōkai Mandala (Diamond World Mandala). Heian Period; 9th century, Kyōgoku-ji (Tōji) Temple. From temple catalogue. The mirror is the distinctive attribute of Ashuku Nyorai, embodying his ‘Mirror Knowledge’ (Jp: daienkyōchi)
The Sun and Moon, symbols of Eternity. Hanging scrolls. Paint and ink on silk. Kamakura period; 1191 C.E. Kyoogokokuji monastery, Kyoto, Japan.
‘The Mirror Polisher’/ ‘Kagami-togi-shi’. By Yusetsu Kaiho. Ink and paint on paper. Edo period; 17th century. In Umeda, (1992), p. 113.
Bronze Magic Mirror (makyo) with hidden image revealed via X-Ray analysis. Bronze. D: 21cm. Edo Period. The British Museum, London.
Wooden Netsuke of Demon with Mirror. Edo period; 18th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Mirrors have held a unique status in East Asia since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220CE) for their power to scare away demons.
Shrine with reliquary. Shrine: Lacquered wood with polychromy, cut gold foil, and metal fittings with incised designs. H: 30.3cm; Reliquary: Gilt bronze, nickel, inscribed paper, and glass. Muromachi period; 1387 C.E. In Cunningham, 1998, p. 208.
