Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan

192 Pages·2011·8.997 MB·English

by  Yui Suzuki

medicine master buddha:
the iconic worship of yakushi in heian japan
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japanese visual culture
Volume 3
Managing Editor
John T. Carpenter
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Medicine Master Buddha:
The Iconic Worship of Yakushi
in Heian Japan
by
yui suzuki
Leiden – Boston
2012
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Published by Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden,
BRILL The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the
Plantijnstraat 2 imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC
2321 JC Leiden Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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Fees are subject to change.
Suzuki, Yui.
Medicine Master Buddha : the iconic worship of Yakushi in Subvention for the publication of this volume was
Heian Japan / by Yui Suzuki. generously supplied by:
p. cm. -- (Japanese visual culture ; v. 3) Northeast Asia Council (NEAC) of the Association of
Includes bibliographical references and index. Asian Studies (AAS)
ISBN 978-90-04-19601-8 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Bhaisajyaguru (Buddhist deity)--Art. Cover image:
2. Bhaisajyaguru (Buddhist deity)--Cult--Japan. 3. Buddhist Detail of fi g. 33. Standing Yakushi. 9th century. Wood,
sculpture--Japan. 4. Sculpture, Japanese--Heian period, single-block construction, with touches of polychrome.
794-1185. I. Title. H. 169.7 cm. Jingoji, Kyoto Prefecture.
NB1912.B48S89 2011
294.3'926--dc23
2011035565
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For my parents,
Hisako and Noriyuki Suzuki
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
A Note to the Reader xi
Prologue 1
1 the formation of the yakushi cult 7
Textual Transmission of Yakushi Belief 8
Yakushi Worship from the Late Seventh Century 11
The Formation of a State-Centered Yakushi Cult in Nara 16
The Rise of Yakushi Repentance Rituals 22
The Founding of Shin Yakushiji 24
2 the magical yakushi: spirit pacifier and healer-god 29
Yakushi Keka Rituals in the Ninth Century 30
Yakushi Worship in the Distant Provinces 34
3 saichō’s standing yakushi and its iconic legacy 45
Saichō’s Early Training and Establishment of Hieizanji 46
Did Saichō’s Yakushi Icon Really Exist? 47
Saichō’s Yakushi and the Danzō Tradition 50
The Standing Pose 54
New Ritual Signifi cance 58
4 replicating memory: extant images of the
saichō-enryakuji lineage 65
Direct Replication at Enryakuji’s Central Hall 66
Saichō’s Yakushi as a Secret Image 70
The Mystery of the Mudrās 72
Extant Replications Beyond Enryakuji 73
The Current Standing Yakushi Image in Enryakuji’s Central Hall 85
5 reflections on the jingoji yakushi and the saichō
connection 89
Competing Theories: Jinganji and Takaosanji 92
Jinganji’s “Unsuitability” as a Ritual Site 95
The Meaning of Takaosanji’s Jōgakuji Status 96
The Standing Yakushi Icon 97
Saichō and the Wake Clan 99
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6 the magnificent seven: shichibutsu yakushi icons
and ritual 103
Shichibutsu Yakushi Images at Kokōkaku and Matsumushidera 103
The Shichibutsu Yakushi in Enryakuji’s Central Hall 107
The Esoteric Shichibutsu Yakushi Ritual 108
Fujiwara no Michinaga’s Shichibutsu Yakushi Worship 110
A Morphology of the Shichibutsu Yakushi Ritual 116
Epilogue 125
Appendix 130
Endnotes 132
List of Characters 153
Bibliography 158
Illustration Credits 166
Index 167
viii
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Acknowledgments
Long before i became an art historian, encouragement and helped bring this project to
my mother and aunt were part of a small fruition in various practical ways.
Buddhist art studies group that was taught I owe a special debt of gratitude to all of the peo-
by Kikuno Takahashi, an independent researcher. ple and institutions that kindly allowed me to repro-
The aged Kikuno-sensei was blessed with a formi- duce their works of art. I am particularly grateful to
dable memory and acuity of vision honed by count- the temples Daikōji, Dairenji, Enryakuji, Hōrinji,
less visits to Buddhist temples over the course of Jingoji, Kan’eiji, Kōfukuji, Kokōkaku, Kokusekiji,
more than fi fty years. At least twice yearly Kiku- Komatsuji, Matsumushidera, Murōji, Nishino
no-sensei organized trips to visit temples that held Yakushidō, Seiryōji, Shin Yakushiji, Shōjiji, Shōjōji,
renowned Buddhist statues, and in the early nine- Shōryakuji, Tōshōdaiji, and Yakushiji. I would also
ties I was fortunate enough to accompany my like to acknowledge numerous publishers and mu-
mother and aunt on a few such excursions. Nearly seums, including Asahi Shimbun Publications,
a decade would pass until I entered graduate Daizō Shuppan, The British Museum, the Freer
school, but Kikuno-sensei’s knowledge, passion, Gallery of Art, and the Fukuoka Art Museum, for
and dedication to the study of Japanese Buddhist generously waiving their image permission fees.
art remained a source of inspiration for my own Others came to my aid by supplying hard-to-fi nd
work in the fi eld. images; Tetsuei Tsuda generously provided the
This study fi rst began as a seminar paper on the digital images of the Daikōji Yakushi, and Kosuke
standing Yakushi statue from Jingoji, then turned Takano gave me his professional photographs of
into a doctoral dissertation project, and now has Enryakuji.
fi nally crystallized into a book through the inter- Parts of this book have been presented at nu-
cession of many teachers and colleagues. During merous conferences and invited talks at Harvard
the early stages of the dissertation work, Mimi University, Yale University, UCLA, and the Uni-
Yiengpruksawan and Samuel Morse off ered kind versity of Kansas. Yukio Lippit, Melissa McCor-
advice and suggestions. I am also deeply indebted mick, Phyllis Granoff , Koichi Shinohara, Donald
to my advisors at UCLA, William Bodiford, Lothar McCallum, and Sherry Fowler all gave me oppor-
von Falkenhausen, and in particular Donald McCa- tunities to present my work at their respective insti-
llum, for sharing their expertise and imparting con- tutions, and I am grateful for their comments and
structive criticism. suggestions. I also wish to thank my friend and col-
At the University of Maryland, I am extremely league Sally Promey for giving me invaluable pub-
fortunate to enjoy the fellowship of supportive lishing advice.
colleagues in the Department of Art History and I would like to express special thanks to Patricia
Archaeology. Special mention goes to Renée Ater, Crosby at the University of Hawai‘i Press, who
Meredith Gill, and Marjorie Venit for their men- read an early draft of this book and provided help-
torship, and to June Hargrove for her wonderful ful comments. I am also indebted to my two anony-
sense of humor and wise counsel. I would like to mous readers, both of whom read through the
convey my appreciation to Henry “Quint” Gregory manuscript with extreme care, off ering meticulous
and Lauree Sails at the Michelle Smith Collabora- comments and suggestions. I wish to thank Mela-
tory for Visual Culture for providing generous nie Klein for her immaculate editing and extraordi-
technical support and advice on digital images. nary patience. Cynthia Col did a wonderful job
My close colleague Alicia Volk off ered continuous preparing the index, despite the tight schedule.
ix
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acknowledgments
Inge Klompmakers and Nozomi Goto at Brill pro- gave me incisive feedback. Rachel Fretz and Noriko
vided assistance at all levels of the publication Tagawa provided moral support at crucial times.
process, and were wonderful to work with. I am Other friends and colleagues were always willing
especially grateful to John Carpenter, curator of to lend an ear whenever I needed advice, including
Japanese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Sonya Lee, Kristen Loring, Sarah Meacham, Doug-
and managing editor of Brill’s Japanese Visual Cul- las Miller, Kate Mondloch, Wendy O’Brien, and
ture series, for believing in my project and manag- Yoko Shirai.
ing it with exceptional skill. I also off er my thanks Just when this manuscript was nearing com-
to the institutions that provided fi nancial assistance pletion, fate dealt my family, friends, and me a
that helped bring this book to completion, includ- number of totally unexpected tragedies, including
ing generous funding granted by the University of some related to the devastating earthquake that
Maryland General Research Board and the North- struck northeast Japan. At this personally trying
east Asia Council of the Association for Asian juncture a number of people came to my aid,
Studies. some of whom I hardly knew or had just fortui-
While many individuals and institutions were tously met. Although it is not possible to acknowl-
integral to the completion of this project, no one edge each of them individually, I owe them my
else, of course, is responsible for any of the errors heartfelt gratitude for giving me the strength to
or inaccuracies in this book, which are mine alone. move this project forward to the end. Last but not
Many friends and family have given me their con- least, I am grateful beyond words to Akio Tagawa,
tinuous love and support, for which I am deeply who provided never-ending love, advice, and sup-
thankful. Bettina Gramlich-Oka and Chari Pradel port. This book would not have been possible
tirelessly read many versions of the manuscript and without him.
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