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JAPAN SOCIETY LECTURE Myoken Bosatsu: The Adoption and Adaptation of the Pole Star Deity by Samurai and Townspeople in Pre-modern Japan At 1 BY DR MERI ARICHI Myoken Bosatsu is regarded as the personification of the Pole Star (J. Hokkyokusei), a significant deity in the religious tradition of pre-modern Japan. Worship of this deity was believed to bring prosperity, good fortune and protection from danger. He originated as an Indian Buddhist deity whose identity became entwined with elements of Daoist cosmology in China. In Japan, Myoken Bosatsu was an important figure in esoteric Buddhist rituals related to astronomy, but he was sometimes regarded as a Japanese kami in the climate of shinbutsu shugo (kami-Buddha combination) during the medieval period. His iconography is a complex combination of Buddhist, Daoist, and "Shinto" traditions. This talk will trace the development of the iconography of My?ken Bosatsu, and will consider how this Indian deity was adopted and adapted by different social groups over the centuries in order to accommodate their religious needs. The Painting of Myoken Bosatsu in the British Museum Collection The painting of Myoken Bosatsu now in the British Museum Collection (fig.1) was acquired by the museum in 1881 from the English doctor William Anderson (1843-1900) who amassed an outstanding collection of Japanese paintings while he was working as a professor of anatomy at the Imperial Naval Medical College in Tokyo between 1873 and 1880. It was painted by Kuwagata Keisai (1764-1824), a talented and versatile artist who was a contemporary of the great ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Keisai began his career as an ukiyo-e painter with the professional name of Kitao Masayoshi, and produced a good number of works including print designs, book illustrations, and maps. In 1794, at the age of 30, he became a painter in attendance to the lord of Tsuyama, and a few years later from 1797 trained under Kano Yosenin Korenobu. The signature in the lower right corner of the hanging scroll, Shoshin (Tsuguzane), indicates that this painting is a work from his later years. In this painting, Myoken Bosatsu is depicted as a young man with long untied hair, dressed in a flowing robe with partial ornamental armour. He is seated on a rock projecting out of the ocean, his legs pendant. He holds a sword in his right hand and makes a gesture of mighty power with his left hand, pointing his index and middle fingers to the sky. The golden halo behind his head is decorated with seven circles which represent the seven stars of Hokuto Shichisei (the constellation of the Big Dipper, Ursa Major / the Great Bear). Below the deity, two attendants dressed in armour and holding weapons, one young and the other with a demonic face, stand on small rocks above the foaming waves. Keisai's Kano school training is evident in the expressive calligraphic brushstrokes used for the flowing robes and the stylized rocks and waves, while the delicate depiction of the deity's face and the attention to detail are more in line with the fashionable ukiyo-e style. The restricted palette of ink, slight colour, and gold is effective in enhancing the overall impression of refinement. However, this image of Myoken Bosatsu differs greatly from the images recorded in esoteric Buddhist iconographical manuals from the Heian (794-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333) periods. Why and how did the changes occur? The Origin of Myoken Bosatsu Myoken Bosatsu was originally the Indian deity Sudr??i, whose name derives from the Sanskrit words meaning, "the one with good eyesight". He is the personification of the Pole Star, and was often accompanied by the Big Dipper, as seen in the British Museum's painting. The constellation of the Big Dipper is easily recognized by its ladle-like shape in the night sky. The second star from the tip of the handle is in fact a twin star system, the smaller star being called Mizar. This subsidiary star is hard to see with the naked eye, and it is said that Mizar was used to test eyesight in ancient India, hence the deity's Sanskrit name, "the one with good eyesight". The line that connects the two stars at the outer edge of the cup points year-round to the Pole Star. Since ancient times, the static Pole Star and the Big Dipper revolving around it have served to indicate direction for travellers in the northern hemisphere. In fact, for caravans travelling the vast deserts of Central Asia and sailors crossing the ocean, knowledge of the stars was a matter of life or death. The Pole Star and the Big Dipper were important elements in Chinese Daoist cosmology even before the transmission of Buddhism to China during the Later Han dynasty (25-220 CE). According to the Shiji, the history of China written by Shima Qian in 91 BC, the Chinese astronomers divided the sky into five "palaces" (C. wugong), corresponding to the four cardinal directions and the middle. The middle was the most important area with the Pole Star in its very centre, being identified with the emperor on earth. The Big Dipper revolving around the Pole Star was regarded as the vehicle of the emperor. The steady movement of the Big Dipper was also interpreted as the passage of time and the cycle of seasons. These pre-Buddhist cosmological symbols were incorporated into the scientific knowledge of astronomy originating from Sassanian Persia and India when the Buddhist text Suyao-jing (J. Sukuyo-kyo), the principal scripture related to astronomy and astrology, was compiled and translated into Chinese by the Indian monk Amoghavajra (J. Fuku, 705-774) with his Chinese disciples. The importance placed on the Pole Star and the Big Dipper in China encouraged the worship of Myoken Bosatsu during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Japanese monk Ennin in his famous travel diary Nitto junreiki (The Record of the Pilgrimage to Tang), mentioned his visits to a Buddhist temple where he had an image of Myoken Bosatsu copied to take back to Japan. Chinese knowledge of astronomy and Buddhist rituals focusing on stars were introduced to Japan by Japanese monks such as Ennin and many other monks from the esoteric schools, both Tendai and Shingon, who travelled to China to study. The Suyao-jing was especially important in encouraging the flourishing of star-related rituals in esoteric Buddhist temples in Japan. Several other esoteric texts introduced to Japan during the Heian period, such as the Hokuto Shichisei goma hiyo giki, Hokuto Shichisei enmei-kyo, and Hokuto Shichisei gomaho, all focused on the importance of the Big Dipper and its influence on earth. When combined with Onmyodo (Yin and Yang) practices during the Heian period, these texts were responsible for the widespread belief in the Pole Star and the Big Dipper as powerful cosmological forces that exerted a great influence on the lives of human beings. According to textual sources, esoteric rituals dedicated to the Pole Star were first performed in the fifteenth year of Enryaku (796), and thereafter were held twice annually, on the third day of the third month and the ninth day of the ninth month, at a Tendai temple located north of the imperial palace. On these occasions, the emperor visited the temple, traditionally Reigen-ji, to pay his respects to the Pole Star deity. By the mid-Heian period, many Tendai temples constructed special halls dedicated to the Pole Star. These were usually called Myoken-do or Hokuto-do, and they housed images of Myoken Bosatsu. For example, the courtier and famous calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari (Kozei, 972-1027) mentioned in his diary Gonki that the main icon of the Myoken Hall of Reigen-ji was painted by the busshi (Buddhist artist) Kosho in the first year of Choho (999). Sadly this image no longer exists, but it was described as similar to the female deity of good fortune Kichijo-ten, holding a wish-fulfilling jewel in her left hand, and her right hand forming the mudra (Buddhist hand gesture) of yogan-in (wish granting). The Japanese art historian Hayashi On points out that some of the images known as Kichijo-ten today may originally have been intended as Myoken Bosatsu. This theory suggests the intriguing possibility that the twelfth century sculpture of Kichijo-ten now in the British Museum could have been originally known as Myoken Bosatsu. Zuzosho: Esoteric Iconography of My?ken Bosatsu The earliest surviving images that can be definitely identified as Myoken Bosatsu appear in the Zuzosho, the ten volume esoteric iconographic manual compiled c.1135. The section entitled "Myoken Bosatsu" begins with a text that describes the characteristics of the deity, Sanskrit mantara (magic spells), and ritual procedures. These are followed by three drawings of the deity's iconographic variations. In the first image, the deity is depicted wearing an Indian style garment, seated cross-legged on a stylized cloud. In his left hand, he holds a large lotus blossom topped with a schematic diagram of the Big Dipper (fig.2). The diagram shows eight circles instead of seven, because the subsidiary star Mizar is included. The second image shows a standing figure with four arms, holding a brush and a notebook in his principal arms, and the sun and the moon in his other arms (fig.3). The brush and paper indicate that he is recording human conduct; his extraordinary eyesight will miss nothing. The sun and the moon symbolize the passage of time and his ability to control the movement of the heavens. He stands on one leg on the back of a prancing dragon amongst trailing clouds. The dragon is associated with rain, and such an image may have been used in rain-making rituals. The deity is accompanied by two attendants, one a young boy holding a brush and paper, and the other a demonic figure holding a vessel, which is in fact an ink container. The combination of a young attendant and a demon-like figure is similar to the British Museum image mentioned earlier. The third drawing of Myoken depicts him as a funnu-zo (deity with a fierce facial expression), wearing a strange head ornament with seven snakes projecting upwards (fig.4). Again he is depicted with four arms, a prominent characteristic of esoteric images. He holds a brush and paper in his principal arms as in the previous image, but a sword and a chakra (Buddhist wheel of the Law) in his subsidiary arms. The diversity of Myoken images probably resulted from the variety of scriptural sources and sectarian ritual functions. The Pole Star deity was also known as Sonjoo, literally "the revered king of the stars", in the Tendai Jimon school based at Mii-dera (Onjo-ji), traditionally a bitter rival of the Tendai Sanmon school on Mount Hiei. The Sonjoo-ho ritual was one of the most important Jimon rituals, jealously guarded as a hiho (secret ritual) performed for the peace and prosperity of the realm and bringing rain. The iconography of Sonjoo is similar to the second figure in the Zuzosho, standing on a dragon on one leg with the other leg pulled to the knee to make a shape similar to the number four. In a drawing from the Besson zakki, another esoteric iconographical manual, he also has four arms, holding the sun and the moon in his back arms, but his principal arms hold a trident and a long metal staff (shakujo) instead of brush and paper. The Japanese art historian Tsuda Tetsuei has proposed a theory that the distinctive pose of the deity standing on one leg derives from the ritual steps taken by the practitioner during ceremonies in Onmyodo. Given the complex interactions between esoteric Buddhist temples, practitioners of Onmyodo and kami-worship in pre-modern Japan, it is highly likely that ritual practices related to Myoken and other star deities evolved by absorbing elements from diverse traditions. The iconography of Myoken Bosatsu as seen in Zuzosho reflects the ritual function of images within the esoteric Buddhist context. The images were employed for rituals regarded as sacred, and were probably only displayed for special ceremonies attended by monks and elite society. In other words, they were not popular images circulated for a wide audience. Samurai and Myoken Bosatsu Worship of the Pole Star deity was not a prerogative of the court and aristocrats. The wide distribution of "Shinto" shrines associated with the Pole Star throughout the Japanese archipelago suggests that a primitive form of star worship existed in pre-Buddhist local communities. The Yashiro Shrine near Kumamoto in Kyushu is an example of such shrines where the Pole Star deity has been worshipped for centuries (Star Festivals are held there to this day). It is not clear when the Star Festivals began there, but shrine legend claims that the deity Chintaku Reifushin was introduced by immigrants from the Korean peninsula in the late seventh century. This deity of Daoist origins associated with a primitive form of Pole Star worship was locally combined with local kami, astronomical knowledge, and Chinese ideas of cosmology and ritual practices. The salient feature of shrines associated with the Pole Star in Japan is the existence of sacred rocks believed to have fallen from the sky. These rocks could be meteorites, and the locations where they landed were regarded as sacred. The Pole Star deity later came to be called Myoken Bosatsu under the strong influence of Buddhism. In contrast to the esoteric iconography of Myoken Bosatsu in Zuzosho, which followed Indian Buddhist iconography, some images of Myoken Bosatsu produced during the medieval period seem more prominently to reflect ideas from Chinese cosmology. A small wooden sculpture dating from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) depicts Myoken Bosatsu as a young boy with long untied hair, wearing Chinese style garments and boot-like shoes (fig.5). His straight hair is extremely long, extending almost down his back. He once held a sword, but this is now lost, except for part of the hilt. He stands on the back of a turtle, a creature associated with the north in Chinese geomancy. (In ancient China, the four cardinal directions were each associated with animals and colours: North with a black turtle, East with a green dragon, South with a red phoenix, and West with a white tiger). This figure may have originated in Chinese Daoist iconography, but the lack of surviving images makes it difficult to confirm the source. It is clear, however, that this sculpture has been handed down in the Azuma family from the eastern provinces, whose ancestors can be traced to Chiba Tsunetane (1118-1201), a samurai who ruled the area of present-day Chiba prefecture. According to Chiba Myoken daiengi emaki (The Great Origin of the Chiba Myoken) from the Muromachi period (1392-1573), the founder of the Chiba clan Taira no Yoshifumi fought a battle against his brother Kunika in the twelfth century. The engi narrates in text and picture how Yoshifumi's army was in a disadvantageous situation but Myoken Bosatsu manifested himself to help Yoshifumi win the battle. Since that incident, Myoken Bosatsu was adopted as the protector of this warrior clan. The aforementioned figure was probably made for a Myoken shrine in the Chiba area to protect the clan territory. Another samurai family associated with Myoken Bosatsu was the Nose clan who ruled the northern part of present-day Osaka. Bernard Frank points out that there was a hall on Mount Nose, traditionally associated with the ancestors of the Nose clan, where an image of Myoken was housed. In 1605, the head of the Nose clan, Nose Yoritsugu, converted to the Nichiren sect, and this location became a centre for Nichiren devotees who embraced the worship of Myoken Bosatsu within the Nichiren sect. The image of Myoken Bosatsu associated with the Nose clan shows him with a fierce facial expression, wearing armour and helmet, and holding a sword above his head - an image more suited to a samurai warrior rather than a compassionate bodhisattva. The diversity of regional iconography indicates that the worship of Myoken Bosatsu was not based on one doctrinal or scriptural source, but was rather a popular belief that absorbed a wide variety of traditions over the centuries in a number of different localities. Yanagishima Myoken Hall in Edo During the Edo period (1615-1868), a small temple named Hossho-ji in Yanagishima (the present-day area of Narihira in Sumida ward of Tokyo) flourished, as the reputation of the temple's main icon Myoken Bosatsu spread widely among the townspeople. According to legend, the temple was founded in the late fifteenth century by the Nichiren monk Nissen who witnessed a strange light shining from the top of an ancient pine tree at this location. He built an altar at the foot of the tree, and chanted the Lotus Sutra. When the light faded, Nissen saw the Pole Star above the tree, and a statue of Myoken Bosatsu miraculously appeared on the altar. Devotion to Myoken Bosatsu was thought to help people find their way in life, just as the Pole Star guides travellers in darkness. The Myoken Hall of Yanagishima became one of the meisho (celebrated places) in Edo with townspeople flocking to worship the icon. An ukiyo-e print from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo) by Hiroshige (fig.6) depicts the temple by the river with the popular Hashimoto restaurant next door. Boats with guests can be seen on the river. The rural landscape in the background suggests that a visit to Yanagishima was a pleasant excursion for townspeople. Popular songs from the period suggest that the Myoken Bosatsu in Yanagishima was as famous as the Kannon in Asakusa and Tenjin in Kamedo. Even kabuki plays featured the location. The great ukiyo-e master Hokusai was a devout believer inMyoken Bosatsu. He frequented Yanagishima when he was still a young and struggling artist. The nineteenth-century biography of Hokusai, Katsushika Hokusai-den (1893) by Iijima Kyoshin, records the well known episode of young Hokusai praying to Myoken when he had yet to establish himself as an artist. Hokusai made a vow to visit the temple for thirty-seven consecutive days to ask My?ken's help. On the last day a great thunder storm suddenly gave him the inspiration and determination to succeed. After the experience, he changed his professional name in 1798 to Hokusai, taking the character "hoku" (north) from the Pole Star. He remained a firm believer in Myoken Bosatsu throughout his life, and often took a character related to the Pole Star or the Big Dipper when changing his name. For example, the name Tokimasa incorporates one character from Hokushin, an alternate name for the Pole Star, and the name Raito uses the character "to" from Hokuto. A memorial stele for Hokusai was erected recently in the temple ground along with a memorial for a well known kabuki play author, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724). The Edo period Hossho-ji building was destroyed during World War II, but the temple still exists at the same location. The present-day temple building is a modern concrete structure, more like an apartment block than a traditional temple, but the temple still has a Myoken-do, a small hall dedicated to the Pole Star deity. The interior of the hall is sparsely decorated with a wood-panelled altar on which a zushi (miniature shrine) containing the sacred image is placed. From the ceiling hangs a canopy strewn with paper decorations reminiscent of heihaku (sacred paper decorations) associated with Shinto shrines (fig.7). Upon closer inspection, the square canopy is revealed to be a three dimensional star mandara (cosmic diagram), with the character "ten" (heaven) in the centre. The outer edge of the square has twenty-eight identical hangings, seven each on four sides, which represent the twenty-eight lunar mansions. The decorations in various shapes inside the square probably represent the twelve signs of the zodiac. A Myoken ritual is regularly held here on the first day of each month, and the annual Star Festival takes place from the winter equinox until the third of February. The temple distributes a small wooden amulet with the words "Kaiun Hokushin My?ken Daibosatsu (the Great Bodhisattva Myoken, the Pole Star of Good Fortune) and a printed image of My?ken Bosatsu that depicts the sacred image inside the zushi (fig.8). Although the image is very small (the amulet measures around 5 cm high and the image itself around 2 cm high), the similarity between this image and the British Museum painting is clear. The deity is seated with pendant legs, holding a sword in his right hand. The halo behind his head is decorated with seven circles representing the seven main stars of the Big Dipper. He is also accompanied by two standing attendants. This amulet confirms that the British Museum painting by Kuwagata Keisai depicts the deity as the popular Yanagishima Myoken which attracted the devotion of Hokusai and other townspeople in Edo. In 1868, the Meiji government issued the shinbutsu bunri edict (separation of Buddhas and kami), officially promoting "Shinto" as the national religion, and denouncing Buddhism as a foreign religion. This artificial separation caused a great deal of confusion, especially in cases similar to Myoken Bosatsu, whose identity was formed through centuries of cross-influence in the environment of Myoken. Even though Myoken Bosatsu was enshrined in both shrines and temples, the title Bosatsu (Sanskrit "bodhisattva") was rejected, and he was officially renamed as a Shinto deity, Ame no minaka nushi no mikoto, literally "Deity in the Centre of Heaven". However, the artificial separation of temples and shrines could not eradicate the centuries of traditions and religious practices supported by the strong sentiments of the people. The worship of Myoken Bosatsu and his name survived the storm of Meiji haibutsu kishaku (Anti-Buddhism movement) and the modernization of the twentieth century. The iconography of the deity is idiosyncratic to Japan, having developed over the centuries by incorporating elements from Buddhism, Daoism, and "Shinto". The religion seems to have less and less significance in the everyday lives of Japanese today, but the numerous Myoken shrines and temples in all parts of the country still reflect an important aspect of Japanese culture: the complex fusion of Indian, Chinese, and indigenous concepts of cosmology. References Frank, Bernard, Nihon Bukkyo Mandara, Fujiwara shoten, Tokyo, 2002. Hayashi, On, My?ken Bosatsu to Hoshi Mandara, Nihon no bijutsu 377, Shibundo, Tokyo, 1997. Kanezashi, Sh?z?, Hoshi-uranai, Hoshi-matsuri, Seiab?, Tokyo, 2003. K?yasan Reih?kan, Mandara to Hoshi, Museum Reih?kan, 1992. Miyahara, Satsuki, "Chibashi no My?ken shink? to B?s? no shinbutsu", B?s? no kami to hotoke, Ciba City Museum of Art, 1999, pp.21-4. Takeda, Kazuaki, Hoshi Mandara no kenky?, H?z?kan, 1995. Tsuda, Tetsuei, "Jimon no Sonj?? wo megutte", MUSEUM, no.581, Tokyo National Museum, 2002, pp.17-37. Yano, Michio, Mikky? toseijutsu, Tokyo bijutsu, 1994. Fig. 13

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