Iconographical Drawing of the Mandala of the Wisdom King Aizen

1107 (Kashō 2)

Not on view

This drawing describes a mandala used in ritual to prevent disaster and increase happiness. Fierce and angry at center, the Wisdom King Aizen is joined by three bodhisattvas, identifiable by their circular body haloes, and three other Wisdom Kings, each wrathful like Aizen and surrounded by flames and carrying weapons. The monk who transcribed this scroll in 1107 at the temple Shōren’in in Kyoto left indications of which colors, white or red, were to be used for the flesh of several of the deities. Though not noted, blue was conventionally employed for the Wisdom Kings at lower left and right.

Artwork Details

愛染曼荼羅図像
Title: Iconographical Drawing of the Mandala of the Wisdom King Aizen
Period: Heian period (794–1185)
Date: 1107 (Kashō 2)
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 23 × 21 in. (58.4 × 53.3 cm)
Overall with mounting: 55 13/16 × 24 7/16 in. (141.7 × 62 cm)
Overall with knobs: 55 13/16 × 26 9/16 in. (141.7 × 67.4 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Object Number: 2015.300.3
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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