At the center of this mandala, which was used in rites to prevent natural calamities, is an orb framing Monju Bosatsu (Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Manjushri) surrounded by eight tiny Sanskrit seed syllables and eight attendants, each on the lion mount associated with the bodhisattva. Seed syllables are derived from mantras (sacred Buddhist formulas) or, as in this case, the first syllable of a particular deity’s Sanskrit name. Representing wisdom, Monju holds his identifying attributes: the sword and sutra. His hair, bundled in eight knots, symbolizes his childlike purity and detachment. The Four Guardians of the Buddhist Law protect the corners of the inner square, and the outer band is filled with his retinue of eight bodhisattvas and devas, superhuman beings in Buddhist cosmology.
On view from December 18, 2021–April 24, 2022
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painting
with rollers, knobs and mounting
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八字文殊曼荼羅図
Title:Mandala of the Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) of the Eight Syllables
Period:Kamakura period (1185–1333)
Date:13th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on silk
Dimensions:52 3/4 × 42 3/8 in. (134 × 107.6 cm) Overall with mounting: 85 1/4 × 51 1/2 in. (216.5 × 130.8 cm) Overall with knobs: 85 1/4 × 54 in. (216.5 × 137.2 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Object Number:1975.268.18
[ Harry G. C. Packard American, Tokyo, until 1975; donated and sold to MMA].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan," November 5, 1991–December 15, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan," 1995.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Resonant Image: Tradition in Japanese Art (Part Two)," April 27–September 27, 1998.
Kyoto National Museum. "Elegance, Virtue, and Ceremony: Buddhist Paintings of the Heian and Kamakura Periods," October 20, 1998–November 23, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Blossoms of Many Colors: A Selection from the Permanent Collection of Japanese Art," March 21–August 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds, Flowers, and Buddhist Paradise Imagery in Japanese Art," February 14–June 13, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Mighty Kano School: Orthodoxy and Iconoclasm," December 18, 2004–June 5, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Spring and Summer," December 17, 2005–June 4, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Flowing Streams: Scenes from Japanese Arts and Life," December 21, 2006–June 3, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japanese Mandalas: Emanations and Avatars," June 18–November 30, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan Galleries," February 2–July 28, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japan: A History of Style," March 8, 2021–April 24, 2022.
Tokyo Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo 東京国立文化財研究所, ed. Nyūyōku Metoroporitan Bijutsukan, kaiga, chōkoku ニューヨークメトロポリタン美術館，絵画・彫刻 (Painting and sculpture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) Kaigai shozai Nihon bijutsuhin chōsa hōkoku 海外所在日本美術品調查報告 (Catalogue of Japanese art in foreign collections) 1. Tokyo: Kobunkazai Kagaku Kenkyūkai, 1991, p. 5, cat. no. 18.
Traditionally attributed to Monk Saigyō (Japanese, 1118–1190)
late 12th century
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