Essay name: Buddhist iconography in and outside India (Study)
Author:
Purabi Gangopadhyay
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This work aims to systematically present the development and expansion of Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist iconography from India to other countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan. This study includes a historical account of Indian Buddhist iconography and the integration of Brahmanical gods into the Mahayana-Vajrayana phase.
Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Iconography (a Comparative Study)
9 (of 101)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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especially of the sculptures of the Gupta period.
Besides the Sh艒-Kannon image mentioned earlier the
rich and powerful modelling of the Gupta style are also
pieces of sculptures including a copper
displayed in dhist triad preserved in the H艒ry奴-ji
repose images of
Nara. The bronze image of Sakyamuni Buddha of the Jindal-ji
also bear a strong resemblance with the Indian images of the
Gupta period. 1
ICONOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
From the point of view of iconographic classifica-
tions Japanese images were traditionally divided into four
broad categories such as (1) Nyorai bu or Hotoke bu (the
group of images of the various Buddhas); (11) Bosatsu bu
(the group of images of Bodhisattvas); (iii) My艒-艒 bu (the
group of images of the fierce-looking deities) and (iv)
Ten bu (the group of Deva images).
But division into eight categories have provided a
greater scope of more minute classification in which Kannon
Bodhisattvas were placed in a separate group allowing us to
undertake the differences between other Bodhisattvas and
a wide variety of Kannon or Avalokitesvara images. The
heavenly bodies were put under the Sheishuk脷 bu. It has
also been very convenient to study the images of the Shinto
deities, who have been given place in the group named Rakan
or Kosho bu and celebrated priests and monks of India, China
1. HDJBP, p. 21.
