The Shingon sect of Buddhism follows the doctrine of esoteric Shingon teachings compiled by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) in the Heian period. “Shingon” refers to the truth revealed by Buddhism. These teachings tell us that words and existence are inseparable, and that the true essence of Buddhism cannot be explained in human language. Instead, the words used in scripture embody the deep meaning and teachings found in phenomena around the world; they are signposts to true reality of all things. Kobo Daishi tells us that it is these esoteric teachings that are truth, and that esoteric Buddhism is the path to understanding them. By contrast, exoteric teachings are concerned with discerning meaning from the surface of things in the world. Exoteric teachings include the Mahayana teachings found in Hosso, Sanron, and Shomon and Engaku practices.
A few differences can be pointed out between esoteric “Mikkyou” Buddhism and exoteric “Kengyo,” but the very basic distinction is the method of practicing the knowledge of the meaning of a hidden secret. In Shingon, the Sanmitsukaji (Three secret healings) and the Sanmitsuyuga (three secret yuga) are spoken of, but it means the practice of meditation to focus on one point of the spirit (Sanmaji). As for its characteristics, the secret workings of the Buddha, body, mouth and thoughts and the workings of the Buddha, body, mouth, and thoughts of the devotee inspire each other reciprocally, and the distinction between the Buddha and the devotee disappears and the follower makes living peaceably essential. Kobo Daishi calls this way of things the “Nyuga Ganyu,” meaning that “the Buddha enters me and I enter the Buddha.” Kobo Daishi expressed that with Mikkyou Buddhism, enlightenment can be better realized, as compared to Kengyo, and says that there exist these incantations, Nyuga Ganyu, and practice (meditation). But then, from the late Heian period until the Kamakura period, the new kind of Buddhism entering the stage took influence from Shingon sect education and prayer, introduced the Mikkyou essence and value in one part, and as a rule, has meditation, for which it can not be said is lacking in Kengyo Buddhism. If another difference between the faiths can be brought up, it is the appreciation of the Buddha and bodhisattva.The Buddha and bodhisattva in Kengyou is a “person” who found enlightenment, and a “person” searching for enlightenment, but the Buddha and bodhisattva in Mikkyou are the truth of the universe themselves (dharma). The ones grasping this ”dharma” as a physical image are the Buddha and the bodhisattva. For that reason, the Buddha and bodhisattva in Mikkyou are called the “Hosshinbutsu (dharmic body).”
Kobo Daishi expresses that this Hosshinbutsu, or truth of the universe, being taught directly to us as an insight of truth is called the “Hosshin Seppo.” This space-time listening to the wisdom of this teaching will be the circumstance of the three mysteries incantation (Nyuga Ganyu). By that meaning, in the Shingon sect, the Buddha and the universe are a gift to the people, and also, is a basis for a prayer as a condition for the mysterious ability of the people to react, and according to that, understanding the insight of the Buddha, naturally accumulating pious acts, helping the people, and making them happy are regarded as the most important, so it can be said that it is a practical Buddhist sect.
SHINGON BUDDHISM is a religion that was established by Kôbô Daishi (Kûkai) at the beginning of the Heian period (9th century), and its teachings are known as Shingon Esoteric Buddhism (Shingon Buddhism).
This form of Buddhism is also known in Japanese as mikkyô, meaning “secret teaching”. Mikkyô is one of several streams of practice within the Mahâyana Buddhist tradition. Mikkyô blends many doctrines, philosophies, deities, religious rituals, and meditation techniques from a wide variety of sources. Assimilation of Hindu and local deities and rituals was especially marked in the Buddhism that became Mikkyô. Such diverse elements came together over time and, combining with Mahâyåna philosophical teachings, formed a comprehensive Buddhist system of doctrine and practice.
The teachings of Shingon are based on the Mahâvairocana Sutra (J: Dainichi-kyô) and the Vajrasekhara sutra (J: Kongôchô-kyô) , the fundamental sutras of Shingon. These sutras were probably written during the last half of the seventh century in India. They contain the first systematic presentation of Mikkyô doctrine and practice.
Shingon represents the middle period of esoteric Buddhist development in India. This, extending from the seventh into the eighth century, was the time when the Mahâvairocana Sutra and Vajra Sekhara Sutra were compiled. Esoteric Buddhist history was practiced from India to Central Asia, Ceylon, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. The Mikkyô tradition continues in Japan today, but in other lands where the Indian source tradition developed in varying ways, the esoteric Buddhist teachings have mostly declined, some to the point of extinction.
Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Source: Kūkai in China, What He Studied and Brought Back to Japan
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism
Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Source: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism/ Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition
Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
Source: Kukai’s Shingon Philosophy: Embodiment
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A Brilliant Exploration of Kukai and the Pan-Asian Travels of Esoteric Buddhism at Nara National Museum: KUKAI: The Worlds of Mandalas and the Transcultural Origins of Esoteric Buddhism
Kukai, 9th century founder of esoteric Shingon Buddhism (Shingon Mikkyo) in Japan, was a peripatetic and socially heroic figure who roved far and wide assisting with infrastructure projects, excelling in the divining of water, and sculpting and painting icons… Or so the mythology that surrounds him would have us believe. He may not have accomplished all the social and artistic projects that are attributed to him, though the attributions are testament to the effect he had on Japan’s historical imagination, but he did indeed travel, as did the type of Buddhism he adopted and introduced to Japan, and the Kukai exhibition at Nara National Museum does a wonderful job of producing a map of Mikkyo, tracing the complex journey of esoteric Buddhism from India to Japan, and then some of its trajectory throughout various regions of Japan under the custodianship of Kukai. Kukai’s life involved monastic training in Xi’an, China, residency at Takaosanji temple and tenure at Toji temple (both in Kyoto) and life at mountain-based Koyasan in Wakayama where he founded his own community. The exhibition traces the stages of his career within the broader Asian context. One place represented where he did not play a role is Indonesia, but the revelation provided by a large number of astonishing artefacts excavated from a site there – and never before displayed in Japan – suggests an impersonal yet significant link.
One magnificent piece (of the many historically important, visually striking, and physically huge works on display) is the twelfth century “Blood Mandala”, the earliest extant polychrome copy of the mandala Kukai brought back from T’ang China with him to Japan in the 9th century. Mandalas, the information panel explains, “convey how the worlds of the universe are conceived within the esoteric Buddhist tradition”. These mysterious diagrammatic paintings are used in complex visualizations by initiated practitioners as a means of accomplishing a state called “Buddhahood [or enlightenment] in this very Body” which is why, while the paintings are crammed with information, they present prescribed iconography and can be decoded. The esoteric psycho-physical cosmos is understood as having a “Diamond” aspect and a “Womb” aspect, which make up a non-dual whole.
On the other hand, there are some striking decorative elements, which demonstrate how these diagrams – which are made and used throughout the Buddhist world – exhibit cultural tastes, such as the delicate, brightly coloured blossoms flowering in the outermost margins. And this reminds us too that these are works of art as much as they are ritual implements. Before each mandala is set an altar equipped with implements for the rituals for each mandala, and nearby is a late 9th century statue of a seated blue-haired and gold skinned Dainichi Nyorai, the principal deity in Japan’s esoteric Buddhism who appears in prime places in both mandalas. Keeping as close to Kukai’s time as possible, a set of Five Wisdom Buddhas (also from the 9th century) represent a key section of the mandalas. All of this together creates a display of the key pieces of esoteric Buddhist ritual: icons, instructive diagrams, and altar. The only element missing is Kukai the ritualist, but his presence is felt throughout the show, and not only as practitioner but as intellect, writer, traveler, community-builder, and religious leader as well.
This leads us into another of the major exhibits: the East Javanese Nganjuk mandala of the 10th century which was made up of numerous small bronze figures of buddhas and bodhisattvas excavated in the early 20th century. These are arranged inside a circular room with walls marked with the stars, presumably to press home the point that what we are dealing with is an esoteric cosmos. The identities and arrangement of the icons that make up this unusual 3D mandala show that the esoteric practices in Java were essentially the same as those brought to Japan by Kukai (there are varieties of esoteric Buddhism). There are also some striking differences. The Javanese icons all display Hindu characteristics, a reminder that esoteric Buddhism developed from Indian traditions, which contrast with the icons that Japan created. Drawing heavily on Indian prototypes, the headdresses, facial features, and the curvaceous female deities distinguish the entire set from its Japanese counterparts.
Of the many notable artefacts, works of painted and sculpted art, and ritual tools on display, the magnificent Takao Mandala is also a must-see. Kukai was based at Takaosanji temple (after which the mandalas are named) in Kyoto for a short period. This is another piece from the 9th century, and it is being exhibited for the first time since its six-year long conservation. This beautiful, delicate (and gigantic) pair of mandalas are painted with thin gold line on black backgrounds – simple yet stunning.
A highly recommended show, excellently curated, and overflowing with masterpieces that include works rarely seen in Japan.
Admission: Adults 2000 yen, University and High School Students 1500 yen, Junior High School Students and Under: free
Nara National Museum. Location here. 50 Noboriojicho, Nara, 630-8212
Directions: Take Exit 2 from Kintetsu-Nara Station on the Kintetsu line and walk 15 minutes or from the East Exit of Nara Station on the JR Kansai Main line, take the Nara Kotsu bus and alight at Himurojinja-Kokuritsuhakubutsukan bus stop.
A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism
Wiley-Blackwell Guides to Buddhism Authors William E. Deal, Brian Ruppert Edition illustrated, reprint Publisher John Wiley & Sons, 2015 ISBN 1405167017, 9781405167017 Length 320 pages
The Mountain as Mandala: Kūkai’s Founding of Mt. Kōya
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 47(1) December 2020 47(1) DOI:10.18874/jjrs.47.1.2020.43-83 Authors: Ethan Bushelle Western Washington University
Shingon Buddhism originated in ancient Indian Tantric thought and developed as a distinctive form of Buddhism before arriving in Japan in the early 9th century CE. The religion moved across countries, from India through the Silk Road countries into China and finally into Japan, before it took shape as a distinctively Japanese form of esoteric Buddhism. In order to understand this branch of Buddhism it is important to study its path from India to China, and then finally to Japan. Along every stop on its path the religion adapted to the culture around it, constantly changing until arriving in Japan. Although extensive documents and archaeological evidence from this journey no longer exist, there are a few highlights along the Silk Road that shed light on esoteric Buddhism’s path. Specifically in India and China Buddhism went though severe religious persecution causing relics and temples to be destroyed. However many cave temples in China have been spared, although they have endured some damage. Another important factor affecting the preservation of evidence concerns the secret nature of esoteric Buddhism. Because Shingon and other esoteric sects were always restricted to those who were initiated into the sects, Shingon was able to fossilize the religion in secret chambers, some of which are being discovered today.
Icons and Iconoclasm in Japanese Buddhism: Kukai and Dogen on the Art of Enlightenment
Author Pamela Winfield Edition illustrated Publisher OUP USA, 2013 ISBN 0199945551, 9780199945559 Length 207 pages
Kukai and the beginnings of Shingon Buddhism in Japan
Jingo-ji Temple, a famous autumn foliage spot in northern Kyoto, traces its origins to Takaoyama Temple, established by Wake no Kiyomaro. When Kukai returned from Tang China, he made Jingo-ji his base of operations, making it a starting point for Shingon Esoteric Buddhism. This exhibition commemorates the 1200th anniversary of Jingo-ji becoming an official esoteric Buddhist temple in 824 and the 1250th anniversary of Kukai’s birth. It features treasures associated with Kukai, such as the National Treasure “Standing Yakushi Nyorai,” a masterpiece of early Heian period sculpture, and the National Treasure “Ryokai Mandala (Takao Mandala),” which has been restored for the first time in approximately 230 years. Additionally, other precious cultural properties inherited by Jingo-ji will be on display.
Hardcover – Illustrated, May 31, 2006 by Rolf W. Giebel (Translator), Dale A. Todaro (Translator)
The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism (2 Vol)
Author(s): Adrian Snodgrass ISBN: 8185179271 Year of Publication: 1998 Bibliographic Information: xli + 881p. 382 illus. Format: Hardcover Series Information: Satapitaka Series No. 354-55 Language: English
From the early 9th century a new orientation emerged in Japanese Buddhism that emphasized specific Tantric, or Vajrayāna characteristics of both doctrine and practice. While elements of the Vajrayāna (vehicle of the diamond/thunderbolt) Buddhist traditions of mature Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism were present in Japan in the 8th century, it was only in the new Buddhist schools of Tendai and Shingon that related practices recently imported from China were specifically identified as “esoteric” in nature and as different from the other schools of Buddhism that were newly designated as “exoteric” by these schools. The first to promote this distinction was the monk Kūkai, founder of the Shingon school. His contemporary Saichō, who founded the Tendai school, placed himself and several of his disciples under Kūkai’s tutelage to learn what the latter had brought back from an intensive study period in China. Yet Saichō’s approach was to place the esoteric teachings and practices on a par with his Tendai teachings, derived primarily from the Chinese Tiantai school. His difference from Kūkai on this matter drove both an eventual end to their cooperative relationship and, after Saichō’s death, innovations by Tendai school exegetes that aimed to reconcile the differences. The combined force of Tendai esotericism (Taimitsu) and Shingon esotericism (Tōmitsu) impacted greatly the development of subsequent centuries of Japanese Buddhism. The three major schools of Buddhism that dominated during the Nara period (710–794)—Sanron, Hossō, and Kegon—all incorporated esoteric elements into their practice during the Heian period (794–1185). By the time of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), when the new forms of Zen, pure land, and Nichiren Buddhism emerged, the esoteric paradigm was so ingrained in Japanese Buddhist thought that even though esoteric practice was at times explicitly criticized by the new schools, much of its worldview was implicitly affirmed.
Central to Japanese esoteric Buddhism is the understanding that through engaging in the ritual practices of reciting mantra, practicing symbolic hand gestures known as mudra, and imagining one’s self and all beings as being intrinsically awakened (one meaning of the term mandala), one can achieve the enlightened stage of buddhahood within one lifetime. These three are called the “practices of the three mysteries” (sanmitsu gyō三密業), through which a practitioner is able to unite with the enlightened energy of the cosmic buddha’s body, speech, and mind. More than anything else, it was this cosmological framework that influenced the development of many later Buddhist practices. Fundamental to this model was the affirmation that every living being is intrinsically endowed with the latent qualities of buddhahood. This concept of “original enlightenment” (hongaku本覚) framed an immanental, holistic vision that recognized the real presence of nirvāṇa (freedom, liberation) in the midst of one’s experience of saṃsāra (the cyclic world of ignorant suffering). The unfolding of various doctrinal and ritual means of articulating and verifying a practitioner’s intrinsic state of enlightenment spurred novel theological systems, artistic creativity of many forms, as well as sociopolitical opportunities for aristocrats who sought to invoke the buddha’s power for various mundane needs. Tendai and Shingon monks alike contributed to this growth in a myriad of ways.
ronze statues of Kukai, left, and Huiguo are shown at the Qinglong Temple in Xian, China, where Japanese monk Kukai learned the teachings of esoteric Buddhism from Chinese Master Huiguo more than 1,200 years ago.
Ayoung Buddhist monk crossed the sea to China as a member of a Japanese mission sent there during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). That monk was Kukai (774-835), also known posthumously as Kobo-Daishi.
In China, he studied esoteric Buddhism, which had been brought from India, and later brought the teachings back to Japan and founded the Shingon School of Buddhism.
His name has been passed down from generation to generation in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province, then the Tang capital of Changan, and garners respect among local people even today.
Surrounded by walls built during the Ming Dynasty, the streets of Xian are laid out as a grid. The streets of Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan, were modeled after those of Xian. While the city is now lined with four-star hotels and designer boutiques, many old temples and pagodas still remain here and there, recalling bygone days.
On a hill southeast of the city”s south gate is Qinglong Temple, Kukai received the ultimate teachings of esoteric Buddhism under Master Huiguo (746-805). At Huiguo-Kukai Memorial Hall, the temple”s main hall, wooden statues of Kukai and Huiguo are now worshiped.
“The sight of Huiguo, a Chinese master, and Kukai, a Japanese master, side by side is an eternal symbol of friendship between China and Japan,” Kuan Xu, the temple”s 43-year-old head priest, said quietly.
Near the hall stands the Kukai Monument. It was built by four prefectures in Shikoku, including Kagawa, where Kukai was born, and the city government of Xian. Four decorative stones at the monument”s four corners symbolize the four prefectures.
The temple was once packed with Japanese tourists, but due to soured relations between the two countries, the number of visitors has declined markedly.
“I chatted with Japanese visitors on a few occasions here … Master Kukai would feel sorry about the current state of bilateral relations,” said a 77-year-old woman who was sitting on a bench near the monument.
A gateway to the Silk Road and the center of esoteric Buddhism, Changan was one of the world”s most prosperous cities during the Tang Dynasty.
Kukai came across esoteric teachings while studying Buddhism in Japan and joined the official mission overseas, hoping to plumb their depths in Changan.
Upon his arrival in Changan in 804, Kukai took up the study of Sanskrit to read the sacred texts. Later he went to see Huiguo at the Qinglong Temple, then considered to be the headquarters of esoteric Buddhism in China.
Huiguo had probably been informed that Kukai was a man of great ability as well as a genius at calligraphy and languages. When Kukai visited him and was given an audience, Huiguo said with delight: “Since learning of your arrival, I”ve been waiting anxiously. How excellent it is that we now meet at last!”
Huiguo reportedly bestowed upon Kukai all the esoteric teachings.
Esoteric Buddhism, after experiencing a golden age, gradually fell into decline due to Tang Dynasty policies that oppressed Buddhism while patronizing Taoism, and the outbreak of war at the end of the dynasty.
Qinglong Temple was allegedly destroyed, like other ancient temples there, in the 11th century. The temple in its present form, including the monument and the memorial hall, was reconstructed in the 1980s with the cooperation and financial support of the Shingon School of esoteric Buddhism in Japan and community organizations from Shikoku.
At the memorial hall, a 49-year-old local man was ardently saying a prayer. When I told him that I was from Japan, he said with a smile: “So, you”re from the fatherland of Master Kukai! I hope to visit Mt. Koya someday.”
More than 1,200 years ago, a young Kukai built a bridge between Japan and China. Countless years have passed, and though there have been times when the winds of adversity have blown, there are still some who would cross that bridge even today.
Visible Mantra: Visualising & Writing Buddhist Mantras
The Development of Esoteric Buddhist Scholasticism in Early Medieval Japan
By
Matthew Don McMullen
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy in Buddhist Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley
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
From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. This expansively illustrated volume is the first to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, author D. Max Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views.
The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman’s visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science.
The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world.
Esoteric Buddhism within the Framework of the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren
Daigoji, located in the Yamashina area of Kyoto, is a celebrated Buddhist temple that has played an important role in Japanese history ever since its founding in 874 (Jōgan 16) by the monk Shōbō, who was later known by the honorific title Rigen Daishi. Within the Shingon tradition of Esoteric Buddhism, the temple is known as a sacred site that places great emphasis on conducting prayers for spiritual empowerment and esoteric rites in particular. The sculpture and paintings used as the chief objects of worship in those rituals along with the ritual implements have been preserved as treasures at the temple since the period of its founding in the ninth century. The Documents and Sacred Writings of Daigoji, numbering 69,378 items, has been designated a National Treasure. These items, which include records of the ritual programs, procedures and methods as well as the iconography of the objects of veneration in addition to documents demonstrating the faith of various powerful political figures, recount for us the glorious history of Daigoji. Among these National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties are found many cherished works, including documents, calligraphy and Buddhist sculpture and paintings that were sent overseas in 2016 (Heisei 28) to be displayed in China for the first time. Those exhibitions, which traced the history and art of the temple from the Heian period through modern times, were extremely well received and were viewed by so many visitors in the cities of Shanghai and Xi’an. To commemorate the exhibitions in China, exhibitions are now to be held at two venues in Japan, one in Tokyo and the other in Fukuoka, with the aim of introducing the treasures of Esoteric Buddhist art from Daigoji. The exhibitions chiefly feature Buddhist sculpture and paintings as well as valuable written works and calligraphy that have been designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. These will allow visitor to trace the vicissitudes of Daigoji from the Heian through the early-modern period. In addition to the profound art that represents the Esoteric Buddhist worldview, the exhibition will also provide a precious opportunity for visitors to experience the magnificent art of Daigoji from early-modern times. On view are items associated with the famous cherry-blossoming viewing hosted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the temple during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the mural-like fusuma slidingdoor paintings of the Sanbō-in cloister and the paintings of Tawaraya Sōtatsu.
A Spiritual Trip to Koyasan, The Centre of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism
Viewpoints which Matter 
