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Mandala of Both Worlds: Womb World

13th century

Not on view

This mandala is one of a pair of mandalas that forms a Mandala of Both Worlds, a representation of the Buddhist cosmos as explained in two sacred esoteric texts originating in southwest India. Kūkai (774–835), a Japanese monk and founder of the Shingon School of Buddhism, encountered the Mandala of Both Worlds while studying in China with the monk Huiguo (746–805) of the Zhenyan School. This mandala and its mate, however, demonstrate iconographical inflections characteristic of the Mandalas of Both Worlds created within the Tendai School, founded by the Japanese monk Saichō (767–822), who also trained in China.

Mandala of Both Worlds: Womb World, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Mandala of Both Worlds: Womb World

Period: Kamakura period (1185–1333)

Date: 13th century

Culture: Japan

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk

Dimensions: Overall: 84 1/2 x 50 1/8 in. (214.7 x 127.3 cm)
Image: 46 11/16 x 38 7/8 in. (118.6 x 98.7 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Lent by the Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund

Accession Number: SL.11.2009.3.2

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.