The Phoenix Hall at Uji and the symmetries

·期刊原文
The Phoenix Hall at Uji and the symmetries of replication. (Buddhist temple)
Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan
The Art Bulletin
Vol.77 No.4
Dec 1995
pp.646-671

COPYRIGHT College Art Association of America Inc. 1995

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In 1053 the Japanese nobleman Fujiwara no Yorimichi (990-1074), of
the celebrated Fujiwara family of palace aristocrats and aesthetes,
witnessed the completion and consecration at his residential temple,
Byodoin, of a legendary Amitabha Hall. The birdlike configuration of
this building yields the name by which it has come to be better
known to commentators and worshipers alike, the Phoenix Hall, or
Hoodo [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURES 1, 2 OMITTED!.(1) Situated on the
western bank of the Uji River in the scenic town of Uji not far from
the ancient capital city of Kyoto,(2) and extensively restored in
the twentieth century, the Phoenix Hall is a three-dimensional
interpretation of the teachings of an important Pure Land Buddhist
scripture, the Kan Muryoju kyo, or Visualization Sutra. As such the
Phoenix Hall forms at Byodoin a sanctified zone for the worship and
celebration of the Buddha Amida, or Amitabha,(3) as manifest in his
world-realm Gokuraku, or Sukhavati, in the western quadrant of the
Buddhist cosmos. It is an evocative site, not simply for its
physical beauty but also for the enduring human concerns - of life
and of family - that have governed its reception in history.
The Phoenix Hall was unprecedented in plan and construction. Unlike
most Buddhist architecture of the time, it was not modeled on an
earlier temple structure or group of structures, nor did it follow
established protocols for an Amitabha Hall. Whereas this was
typically either a square building under a pyramidal roof structure,
or rectangular in plan with a hip-and-gable roof, the Phoenix Hall
was constructed as a square building with galleries extending to
each side and a corridor attached at the rear [ILLUSTRATION FOR
FIGURE 3 OMITTED].(4) Ota Hirotaro and Shimizu Hiroshi have
suggested that Yorimichi, who commissioned and financed the Phoenix
Hall, also invented it.(5) The rationale for such an idiosyncratic
production lies in the importance of the Visualization Sutra to
Yorimichi and his family.
In keeping with its formal title Bussetsu kan Muryoju Butsu kyo,
or The Sutra on Visualization of muryoju, the Buddha of Immeasurable
Life, as Expounded by the Buddha Sakyamuni, the Visualization Sutra
explains a set of sixteen visualizations that produce a vision of
Amitabha in Sukhavati for those aspiring to rebirth there.(6)
Aspirants are instructed to contemplate the vision, meditate on
Amitabha, and recite his name, thereby earning spiritual merit for
future entry into his world-realm. The sutra is visual and visionary
in emphasis and has visualization and contemplation of the Buddha as
its goals. The initial stages of visualization are intended to
generate a feature of Sukhavati that appears to the aspirant
"whether the eyes are open or shut" (342a3 - 4, 20) and is then
focused upon for deeper contemplation.(7)
The Visualization Sutra is a sermon directed by the Buddha to a
woman, the virtuous Idaike, or Lady Vaidehi, who has implored him
for rebirth in a pure land to escape her travails "in this polluted
and evil place teeming with hells, hungry ghosts, and animals"
(341a-b). The Buddha appears before her and her female attendants
and, "a golden light radiating from his forehead," illuminates the
cosmos and the pure lands from which he asks her to choose for her
rebirth (341b21-27). Lady Vaidehi selects Sukhavati, "the place of
Amitabha," and asks the Buddha to teach her how to achieve rebirth
there (341b29-341c1). The Buddha smiles, a light of five colors
emanating from his mouth, and begins the instruction (341c1-2).
He tells Lady Vaidehi that, through ethical behavior and the power
of the Buddha, she and other sentient beings "will be able to see
that distant Pure Land as though seeing one's own face in a mirror
held in the hand" (341c20-21). The first of the sixteen
visualizations is that of the sun. "Look at the setting sun," the
Buddha says to Lady Vaidehi, "awaken to contemplation, seat yourself
properly facing west, and abandon yourself to visualization of the
sun" (342a1-2). Twelve visualizations follow by which the physical
appearance of Sukhavati is described in hallucinatory detail, from
its "trees of jewels, earth of jewels, lake of jewels" (342c10-11)
to Amitabha himself, a golden colossus with "eyes like the four
oceans, pale blue and clear" (343b17-20). Beside Amitabha to right
and left stand the bodhisattvas Kanzeon, or Avalokitesvara, and
Daiseishi, or Mahasthamaprapta, who attend him but are also
emanations from his body (342c17-18, 344b6). At the end of the
thirteenth visualization, whose focus is the moment of rebirth when
the aspirant awakens atop a lotus flower as its petals open, Lady
Vaidehi is instructed to see and contemplate Amitabha as a
monumental figure rising above the lake in Sukhavati (344b26).
The remaining three visualizations address the nine grades of
rebirth in Sukhavati, with emphasis on the type of persons qualified
for each grade and the manner in which, at death, they are
"welcomed" to the pure land. Aspirants in the upper three grades are
greeted by Amitabha, who appears before them surrounded by
bodhisattvas and musicians in a pool of light. Holding hands with
bodhisattvas the aspirants are brought to the "palace of seven
treasures" where Amitabha resides in Sukhavati (344c19, 21-22).
Aspirants in the lower grades are welcomed by Avalokitesvara and
Mahasthamaprapta or a golden lotus that shines like the disk of the
sun (345c17, 346a21).
No one is excluded from Sukhavati so long as he or she is mindful of
Amitabha and chants his name. Even the worst of sinners, those who
have killed or belong in hell, who have called on Amitabha with a
sincere heart are allowed a lowly rebirth in Sukhavati inside a
lotus yet to bloom in the middle of its lake, where they await
awakening (346a8-9). Once the Buddha has taught the sixteen
visualizations to Lady Vaidehi, she gains insight and is
enlightened, and her female attendants learn that they too will
reach Sukhavati (345a-b).
The Visualization Sutra sets forth an affirmative vision of a
compassionate Buddha who is prepared to welcome all manner of
aspirants to his sumptuous Pure Land, a place "never far away" from
those who seek rebirth there (341c5-6). In the time of Yorimichi and
his heirs, when some believed that the world was degenerating into a
state of anarchy,(8) the Visualization Sutra was deeply meaningful.
Like many a beloved sutra in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it
was sometimes copied out in gold by its devotees, who then offered
the votive transcription to Amitabha. But such copying of the
Visualization Sutra was minimal by comparison with other popular
scriptures, among them the other principal Pure Land texts, the
Muryojukyo (Skt. [Larger] Sukhavativyuha-sutra), or Sutra on the
Adornments of the Realm of Bliss, and Amidakyo (Skt. [Smaller]
Sukhavativyuha-sutra), or Amitabha Sutra.(9) Instead, and in keeping
with the visionary content of the sutra, devotees of the
Visualization Sutra commissioned its production as a painting in a
mandalalike configuration known as a "transformation," or henso, of
which the Taima Mandala is a well-known example [ILLUSTRATION FOR
FIGURES 4, 5 OMITTED!.(10) In this format the principal teachings of
the Visualization Sutra were translated from the pages of the sutra,
where they reside as an ideographic text, to the two-dimensional
plane of a painting as a body of graphic images. Yorimichi appears
to have desired yet another level of transcription and, expanding on
the henso convention, built the Visualization Sutra at Byodoin in
the form of the Phoenix Hall.
The iconographical consistency of the Phoenix Hall as a
three-dimensional representation of the Visualization Sutra is
widely noted.(11) But there was neither a precedent for such a
spatiotemporal transformation of the Visualization Sutra, nor any
obvious model to which Yorimichi and his advisers might have
turned.(12) In iconographical program as in physical plan, the
Phoenix Hall was a novelty. For those who saw it soon after its
consecration and in years to follow, it was akin to Sukhavati
itself. "It is marvelous," enthused Yorimichi's descendant Tadazane
(1078-1162) while attending a ceremony at the Phoenix Hall in 1118,
"a veritable imitation of Sukhavati."(13)
In time the Phoenix Hall itself was transcribed like a benevolent
sutra. Emperor Toba (1103-1156) commissioned such a copy in 1134 for
the Toba Palace, a complex of residences and temples on the northern
bank of the Kamo River just south of Kyoto proper. The structure was
named Shokomyoin, "Hall of Victorious Radiance," and when it was
dedicated in 1136 it was described as "having been copied after Uji
Byodoin."(14) Another copy of the Phoenix Hall was constructed
several decades later, between 1150 and 1170, by the regional
warlord Fujiwara no Hidehira (d. 1187) near his private residence,
Kara Mansion, in the distant city of Hiraizumi in what is now
southern Iwate Prefecture. Called Muryokoin, "Hall of Immeasurable
Light," the building stood on the southern bank of the Kitakami
River and, like Shokomyoin, was described as "a place entirely
copied after Uji Byodoin" [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 6 OMITTED!.(15)
Neither Shokomyoin nor Muryokoin survive, having been lost to
flooding by the Kamo and Kitakami rivers, but much is known about
the structures through primary records and excavations.
Architectural copying was uncommon at the time that Shokomyoin and
Muryokoin were built. Indeed, the Phoenix Hall is one of the very
few monuments in premodern Japan to have been copied and to have
been so described in contemporary sources.(16) Scholars on occasion
have noted the oddity of the replication of the Phoenix Hall at
Shokomyoin and Muryokoin, but there has been little discussion of
its possible significance.(17) That two powerful men after
Yorimichi, one an emperor and the other a warrior, each built near
the premises of their main residences an imitation of the Phoenix
Hall raises theoretical issues, from notions of textuality to the
work of copying and mimesis, with important ramifications for the
study of art and culture in ancient Japan.
Byodoin
Fujiwara no Yorimichi belonged to an illustrious family with the
economic and political stability to encompass such a monument as the
Phoenix Hall. He was the first son of Fujiwara no Michinaga
(966-1027), an influential statesman and palace aristocrat whose
hold over the monarchy through marriage and kinship ties is
legendary. Michinaga married several daughters to reigning monarchs
in a tactic that insured him direct control over the princes and
emperors born to them as his grandsons, and thereby dominated palace
society throughout his maturity. As an aesthete Michinaga is the
most widely studied aristocrat of the Heian period (784-1185), and
historical tales such as Eiga monogatari, or A Tale of Flowering
Fortunes, provide a compelling account of his cultural predilections
and his milieu.(18)
Michinaga constructed several mansions and a number of
temples,(19) a practice that culminated in his later years in the
temple Hojoji on the western bank of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Hojoji
no longer exists, but much is known about it from A Tale of
Flowering Fortunes and the diaries of Michinaga's
contemporaries.(20) The first structure to be built was an Amitabha
Hall called Muryojuin, "Hall of Amitayus." Initiated by Michinaga in
1019 and consecrated in 1020, Muryojuin measured eleven bays in
length and housed nine monumental statues of Amitabha with paintings
of the nine degrees of rebirth on its doors. As such it was the
first instance of what is known as the Nine-Image Amitabha Hall, in
which nine large statues of Amitabha as well as a cycle of paintings
called kuhon ojo zu, "pictures of the nine degrees of rebirth," were
enshrined in an elongated version of the square Amitabha Hall that
had been the standard until that time.(21)
The name Muryojuin, as well as its statuary and paintings, indicate
that Michinaga's hall was based on the Sutra on the Adornments of
the Realm of Bliss (J. Muryojukyo) and the Visualization Sutra (J.
Kan Muryojukyo). The hall faced east over an artificial lake, in
keeping with the scriptural accounts of Amitabha in his world-realm,
and is described in glowing terms in A Tale of Flowering Fortunes as
a richly appointed and colorful hall "glittering in the setting
sun."(22) Michinaga frequented Muryojuin for prayers and chanting
and died there in 1027, "his gaze fixed on the nine Amitabha
images," his hands holding braided cords attached to the
sculptures.(23)
In 1022, after Michinaga added a Main Hall on the northern bank of
the lake as well as other ornate structures around Muryojuin, the
complex was renamed Hojoji, "Temple of the Buddhist Law Attained,"
to accommodate diversification away from Amitabha as the sole focus
of worship. By the time of Michinaga's death Hojoji contained
numerous halls dedicated to various Buddhas and bodhisattvas and
situated around a central body of water [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 7
OMITTED].(24) So lovely as to be described in A Tale of Flowering
Fortunes as similar to Sukhavati in appearance,(25) Hojoji also
exhibited a number of structural innovations, from extensive use of
elongated halls and galleries to their asymmetrical arrangement
around a lake after what is known as the shinden mode of domestic
architecture.(26) Shimizu Hiroshi has argued that the cumulative
effect of the richly ornamented Amitabha and Main halls, the lake,
and the gardens was intended to produce at Hojoji "an illusory
world" for the enjoyment of its patrons.(27) Certainly this was its
reception among nuns visiting Muryojuin in 1022, one of whom was
inspired to exclaim, "It's like being in another world!"(28)
Yorimichi succeeded as head of the Fujiwara on Michinaga's death
in 1027 and, having served as regent since 1017, enjoyed several
decades of authority at court as uncle to the reigning emperors Go
Suzaku (1009-1045) and Go Reizei (1025-1068). Yorimichi married his
daughter Genshi to Go Suzaku in 1037 but in this manuever he was not
successful in gaining royal heirs, for Genshi died childless in
1039. In 1044 a prince called Takahito, unrelated to Yorimichi's
lineage and thus largely beyond his influence, was named to the
imperial succession by an ailing Go Suzaku. Although Yorimichi
objected vehemently, he was outmaneuvered at court by rivals, and
his authority began to wane as a new regime took hold. On Takahito's
accession as Emperor Go Sanjo in 1067 Yorimichi retired from the
regency after a long tenure marked by difficulties in the later
years.(29)
Ota Seiroku describes Yorimichi as having been more inclined
to aesthetic and cultural pursuits than Michinaga, whose real
interests lay "in the accumulation of political power" and not, as
often argued, in the literary and visual arts.(30) In 1021 Yorimichi
completed construction of one of the most important residential
complexes of the period, Kayanoin, a mansion in Kyoto proper a few
blocks east of the imperial compound. In plan Kayanoin Mansion
departed significantly from shinden convention, for its principal
residences and pavilions stood entirely surrounded by the waters of
a lake. According to visitors in 1021 the lake "shone like a
mirror."(31) For the authors of A Tale of Flowering Fortunes
Kayanoin Mansion was "splendid beyond description" and "seemed to
belong to another realm."(32)
With his older sister Fujiwara no Shoshi (988-1074), or Jotomon'in,
Yorimichi also maintained and expanded the Hojoji complex. He
sponsored the repair and consecration in 1030 of its five-storied
pagoda, which had collapsed during a typhoon in 1028.(33) Earlier
Shoshi had dedicated Tohokuin, or "Hall on the Northeast," a
five-bay square Circumambulation Hall with flanking galleries that,
situated in the northeastern corner of Hojoji, enshrined a statue of
Amitabha with the attendant bodhisattvas Kannon, Seishi, Jizo, or
Ksitigarbha, and Ryuju, or Nagarjuna. Tohokuin formed a pair with
Saihokuin, or "Hall on the Northwest," a similar but smaller
structure built in 1021 by Shoshi's mother, Minamoto no Rinshi
(1040-1114), in the northwest corner of Hojoji.(34) In the third
month of 1050 Yorimichi added a new structure to Hojoji, a Lecture
Hall north of the Main Hall with a seven-bay main building and
flanking arcades.(35)
On Michinaga's death Yorimichi inherited a number of residences
and estates, among them a villa at Uji.(36) Sometime around 1051, as
he was approaching sixty years of age, Yorimichi decided to turn the
villa into a temple by converting its main residence into a space
for worship and adding new structures around it.(37) In the third
month of 1052 the Main Hall was consecrated and the villa given the
name Byodoin, "Temple of Equanimity," possibly in reference to the
title of an early translation of the Sutra on the Adornments of the
Realm of Bliss.(38) Although no longer extant, the Main Hall is
known to have consisted of four buildings linked by covered walkways
in a garden setting overlooking the Uji River [ILLUSTRATION FOR
FIGURE 8 OMITTED!. One building, housing a monumental statue of
Dainichi, or Mahavairocana, served as the main place of worship, and
the other three were either used as chapels or lived in by Yorimichi
and his guests.(39)
The Phoenix Hall was consecrated a year later in the third month
of 1053 in a picturesque setting of water and gardens just south of
the Main Hall.(40) Although no detailed record was made, prompting a
complaint by Emperor Toba in 1134,(41) its construction is known
through descriptions in primary documents. Architectural historians
are confident that much of the hall's original external appearance
has been preserved, despite regular restorations and alterations
since the late fifteenth century. Today a vast body of scholarship
exists on the hall, its garden, and their contents.(42)
The Phoenix Hall occupies an artificial island in a lake that once
extended well north and west of its current location to form a
waterway isolating the Phoenix Hall complex from that of the Main
Hall. At present only a narrow canal separates the island from the
bank of the lake to the rear of the Phoenix Hall, but Muraoka Sho
and others have shown that in 1053 the distance was greater and the
hall was indeed surrounded on all sides by pools of water.(43) Small
bridges connected the Phoenix Hall to the northern and southern
shores of the lake, but there is no evidence that a bridge spanned
this between the front of the hall and the eastern shore. It is
believed that the shape of the lake conformed to the Sanskrit "germ
syllable" identified with Amitabha.(44)
In plan the Phoenix Hall consists of a center chapel with flanking,
L-shaped galleries and a "tail" corridor at the back [ILLUSTRATION
FOR FIGURES 2, 3 OMITTED!. Forming a shallow U-shape, the hall opens
eastward over the lake and faces the Uji River. The galleries,
ranged along a north-south axis that includes the center chapel,
terminate on each side in extensions to the east. The "tail" extends
westward from the chapel and spans the lake. This "extremely unusual
plan," as Ito Shiro describes it, is not seen in earlier Amitabha
Halls, nor was it utilized in other temple or residential
architecture through the eleventh century. However, Yorimichi may
have designed the Phoenix Hall with earlier projects in mind, such
as Kayanoin Mansion and the Lecture Hall at Hojoji. At both sites
the principal structure was U-shaped in plan, and at Kayanoin
Mansion the lake completely surrounded the main domicile.(45)
The center chapel of the Phoenix Hall is a one-story building
with a hip-and-gable roof. A skirt roof extends around the chapel
and gives the hall the appearance of having two stories. Viewed from
the exterior the chapel appears to be square, but its sanctuary
measures three bays across and only two bays deep (approximately 33
x 26 ft., or 10 x 8 m).(46) In the sanctuary is a large raised dais
set against a reredos formed by two pillars. A space of
approximately 10 feet (3 m) separates the dais from the walls of the
sanctuary except at the back, where the skirt roof has been
incorporated into the sanctuary to yield a space of approximately 6
1/2 feet (2 m).
The galleries to each side of the center chapel form freestanding
open arcades with turrets at either end. Each gallery measures five
bays, or approximately 46 feet (14 m) from north to south, and three
bays, or approximately 29 1/2 feet (9 m) along its eastward
extension. The galleries, under a gable roof, have a very low second
story - less than 6 1/2 feet (2 m) from floor to ceiling - open on
all sides. The turrets also have very low second stories, each under
a pyramidal roof.(47) The "tail" is attached directly to the chapel,
from which it is accessible through a set of doors behind the dais.
About 13 feet (4 m) wide, it extends for seven bays, or
approximately 65 1/2 feet (20 m), and opens to the outside through
double doors on the west bank of the lake. Unlike the galleries, the
"tail" is enclosed by plaster walls, although cusped windows and
lattices provide light.
The sanctuary of the chapel is occupied by a monumental statue
of Amitabha seated on a lotus-blossom pedestal atop the dais
[ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 9 OMITTED!. The gilt-wood image, carved by
the renowned sculptor Jocho and consecrated with the hall in 1053,
measures 110 inches (278.8 cm) in height, or nearly 16 feet (5 m)
including the lotus pedestal and dais, and 92 inches (234.2 cm) at
the width of the knee.(48) A flamelike mandorla arches over the
statue from behind and brushes the canopied ceiling. A small
sculpture of Mahavairocana occupies the crest of the mandorla
[ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 10 OMITTED!, and twelve figures of what are
identified as Hiten, "Hovering Celestials," are ranged from top to
bottom on each side.(49) The hands of the Amitabha form a mudra, or
symbolic gesture, called Concentration, which represents a state of
deep meditation involving "the suppression of all spiritual disquiet
in order to arrive finally at the complete concentration on the
truth" [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 11 OMITTED].(50) In a significant
departure from custom there are no attendant bodhisattvas, nor were
there originally, and the Amitabha rests alone, enormous and golden,
within its sanctuary.(51)
On the doors and lower wall panels of the sanctuary are the remains,
or in some cases later restorations,(52) of a cycle of paintings
that depict the nine degrees of rebirth in Sukhavati as stipulated
in the Visualization Sutra [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 12 OMITTED].
Cartouches with quotations from the sutra identify scenes. On the
three pairs of doors along the east wall, directly in front of the
Amitabha sculpture, are remnants of paintings that illustrate the
upper three grades of rebirth [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 13 OMITTED!;
on the doors and panels of the north wall are depictions of the
upper two of the three middle grades; on the south wall and doors,
the upper two of the three lower grades [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 14
OMITTED]; and, on the back of the reredos, the lowest of the middle
and lower grades. On each pair of doors is a scene of Amitabha in
the sky with an entourage of bodhisattvas and celestial beings,
either arriving over a landscape of low hills to claim an aspirant
for rebirth, or, in the single case of the south doors on the east
wall, departing with an aspirant toward Sukhavati. Behind the
Amitabha, on the pair of doors on the west wall that open to the
"tail" corridor, there is a depiction (now barely visible) of the
setting sun in what appears to be a representation of the first of
the sixteen visualizations.
The upper panels of the north and south walls to each side of
the Amitabha sculpture, and those not directly behind the reredos to
the rear, are occupied by fifty-two relief sculptures of
bodhisattvas averaging 24-28 inches (60-70 cm) in height
[ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 15 OMITTED]. Each figure is depicted atop a
cloud. Most of the bodhisattvas are shown playing flutes, drums,
cymbals, lutes, and other musical instruments, or dancing arms
extended with scarves in hand. Other figures hold their hands in
gestures of prayer. Since the twelfth century at least, the relief
sculptures, which appear to be flying in formation around the
Amitabha image, have been called Kuyo Bosatsu, "Reverent
Bodhisattvas." The iconography is unclear, although most scholars
identify the bodhisattvas as representing the retinue of Amitabha in
Sukhavati or when he ventures to earth to welcome aspirants to the
Pure Land.(53)
It is clear that the Visualization Sutra is at once the
iconographical template for the Phoenix Hall and the scripture whose
principal teachings the building illuminates in three dimensions.
From the lake and gardens to the palatial hall itself, where a
radiant figure of Amitabha is shown meditating among pictures of
rebirth in his world-realm, the Phoenix Hall recalls in numerous
ways the descriptions of Sukhavati as an object of visualization,
contemplation, and desire in the Visualization Sutra. Since there
are no known articulations of the sutra in architecture or as a
three-dimensional mandala, it is likely that Yorimichi, in planning
the Phoenix Hall, relied at least in part on pictorializations,
among them transformations of a type similar to the Taima Mandala.
The Taima Mandala is based on an influential commentary on the
Visualization Sutra by the Chinese monk Shandao (613-681). As
Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis and others have shown, its precedents are
the painted transformations of the Visualization Sutra at the
Dunhuang caves in China, such as the early eighth-century mural on
the north wall of Cave 217. In the Taima Mandala Amitabha is shown
presiding over Sukhavati from the center of an architectural complex
that is U-shaped in plan and has flanking arcades and turrets
[ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURES 4, 5 OMITTED]. A lake and dance platforms
occupy the area in front of the complex, and behind it celestials
hover in the sky.(54)
The mudra formed by the hands of the Amitabha in the Taima Mandala,
Turning the Wheel, indicates that he is preaching. Bodhisattvas in
attitudes of listening and prayer are shown gathered around him,
while dancers and musicians perform on the platforms in the
foreground, and the newly reborn cluster atop lotus blossoms or
bathe in the waters of the lake. Along the edges of the scene, in
the side and bottom registers of the mandala, are cameolike
representations of key points of instruction in the Visualization
Sutra, with the story of Lady Vaidehi in a vertical strip on the
left, the thirteen visualizations on the right, and, along the
bottom, the nine degrees of rebirth. The first visualization, that
of the setting sun, is shown "behind" the Amitabha figure in the
upper right corner of the picture.(55)
Formal and iconographic features link the Phoenix Hall directly
to the Taima Mandala and its precedents in China, as many have
noted.(56) The center chapel, with its sculpture of Amitabha atop a
lotus, is flanked by arcades with turrets, conforms to a U-shaped
ground plan, and opens onto a lake. The sanctuary interior recalls,
in splendor and subject, the imagery of the Taima Mandala and other
transformations of the Visualization Sutra. On the three pairs of
doors directly in front of the statue of Amitabha, itself a golden
representation of the god at rest in his Pure Land, are depictions
of the three upper grades of rebirth. An image of the sun occupies
the doors directly behind the sculpture, where it aligns in the
spring and summer months with the path of the sun, which at twilight
sets behind the Phoenix Hall to silhouette it against the sky.(57)
The lake, its surface mirroring the hall, was once the scene of
music and dance on boats or platforms, as during a celebration of
the Lotus Sutra staged by Empress Kanshi (d. 1127) in 1118.(58)
The Phoenix Hall and Taima Mandala share a common heritage in
pictorialization of the Visualization Sutra for purposes of worship
and meditation in the system of praxis generally identified as Pure
Land Buddhism. In the eleventh century and for much of the twelfth
this was still a movement within the larger philosophical frame of
Tendai Buddhism, and it did not emerge as an independent institution
until the late twelfth century. Pure Land is nonetheless the system
of belief to which the Phoenix Hall is primarily linked by reason of
its iconography. In Tendai Buddhism, however, the Pure Land movement
was integrated with worship of the Lotus Sutra, Tendai's fundamental
scripture, and, most important, with what is called Tendai
Esotericism. In this form of Esotericism the Buddha Mahavairocana,
as the root Buddha-presence of the universe and the source of secret
teachings not accessible to the uninitiated, is merged with
Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra, as the focus of Worship
and ritual.(59)
Byodoin, now independent, was a Tendai temple in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. Scholars have emphasized its Tendai Pure Land
aspect, with Shimizu Hiroshi arguing that the Phoenix Hall, and not
the Main Hall, was in fact the center of the complex.(60) But it is
important to remember that Yorimichi, like Michinaga at Hojoji,(61)
situated his Amitabha Hall in close proximity to a Main Hall that
enshrined a monumental sculpture of Mahavairocana, where worship
would have required the performative rituals of Tendai Esotericism,
such as chanting of mystical formulas, enactment of symbolic poses
and hand gestures, and meditation involving visualization and
concentration. Indeed Esotericism, specifically meditational
practice associated with Mahavairocana, is essential to an
understanding of the Phoenix Hall as a cultural document.
Matsuura Masaaki has proposed that the Phoenix Hall was designed as
a hall of worship for Amitabha as an emanation of Mahavairocana. He
believes that the Kuyo Bosatsu represent the bodhisattvas of the
Hachi Mandala, or Mandala of Eight, expounded in the Muryoju Nyorai
kangyo kuyo giki, or Manual of Rituals for the Visualization of
Amitayus.(62) According to the manual, worship of the Mandala of
Eight is a means of accumulating spiritual merit and, ultimately,
attaining rebirth in Sukhavati.
If a lay practitioner or a monk seeks to be born in the Pure Land,
they must at once receive the teachings of the mandala through its
worship, whether by chanting according to the instructions of a
teacher, or by preparing a purified altar in a fine spot or place of
residence, and hanging above it a Mandala of Eight. (Manual of
Rituals, 67c6-10)
The aspirant then prays, chants, and presents offerings of incense,
flowers, candles, and other items to the mandala.
The Mandala of Eight is explained in iconographic manuals such as
Zuzosho and Besson zakki, both completed in the late twelfth century
but drawn from much earlier sources. Often called an Amitabha
Mandala, it bears at its center an image of Amitayus depicted as an
emanation of Mahavairocana, his hands gesturing Concentration and
his body clothed in the princely garb emblematic of the Cosmic
Buddha. Around Amitayus are the eight Esoteric bodhisattvas who
appear with Mahavairocana in other configurations. Like the Taima
Mandala, the Mandala of Eight has roots at Dunhuang and in Central
Asia, and by Yorimichi's day it was used in the Esoteric rituals of
Tendai Pure Land.(63)
Not all scholars accept Matsuura's argument, but most
agree that Esoteric elements are integrated into the Pure Land
imagery of the Phoenix Hall.(64) The mudra is an example of such
syncretism. Unlike that of the Amitabha in the Taima Mandala, who is
preaching, the mudra of the Amitabha in the Phoenix Hall symbolizes
Concentration. In fact, the placement of the hands with palms up,
the index fingers forming a circle with the thumbs, is a subcategory
of the Concentration mudra that E. Dale Saunders identifies as
Mirror Knowledge, "the knowledge of the exposition of the Law
through 'perspicacity' (myokan), which vouchsafes the understanding
of the whole teaching."(65) It is also the mudra of Amitayus as an
emanation of Mahavairocana in a state of deep concentration that
through its catatonic singularity creates and binds the universe, a
notion reminiscent of the unified field of particle physics.(66)
There is evidence that, at the Phoenix Hall, the conflation of
Amitabha with Mahavairocana was intentional. The sculpture of
Amitabha certainly lends itself to interpretation as a symbolic
emanation of the Mahavairocana in the Main Hall nearby. The mudra of
the small statue attached to the peak of the mandorla of the
Amitabha figure, Wisdom Fists, indicates that it is the
Mahavairocana of the Diamond World, or Vajradhatu. As such it
represents the adamantine wisdom of the Cosmic Buddha, of which the
universe is formed. Ritual convention and iconograpy stipulate its
juxtaposition with a Mahavairocana of the Womb World, or
Gharbadhatu, the noumenous realm of knowledge, and indeed such is
provided in the Amitabha, who is an emanation of that form of
Mahavairocana. It is also likely that the solar imagery of the
Phoenix Hall, from the sun on the doors behind the Amitabha to its
orientation toward the track of the setting sun, encompasses the
symbology of Mahavairocana as the Buddha solaris.(67)
Visualization, contemplation, concentration, and the pursuit of a
transformative state of meditation govern the system of
signification at the Phoenix Hall in its Pure Land and Esoteric
dimensions. Not only is the Visualization Sutra a scripture about
meditation, but the symmetry of Amitabha and Mahavairocana itself
draws on the notion that pure concentration yields a unified
ontotheological and phenomenological state. The moon disk, or
gachirin, sealed within the sculpture of Amitabha since the time of
its consecration, belongs to this order of meaning [ILLUSTRATION FOR
FIGURE 16 OMITTED!. On its face are written in classical Siddham
script the two mystical formulas, one "lesser" and the other
"greater," chanted during meditation on Amitayus as prescribed in
the Manual of Rituals.(68) That the Phoenix Hall rises above a lake
whose shape once recalled the germ syllable for Amitabha further
encourages a meditational interpretation. It is through
concentration on this vowel - the "ah" of both Amitabha and
Mahavairocana - that awakening to Buddhahood occurs, for, according
to the Dainichikyo, or Great Sun Sutra, it is "the heart and mind of
all mantras."(69)
A meditational agenda at the Phoenix Hall raises issues of
intentionality. Mindful of the hall's Pure Land focus and the
representations of "welcoming" scenes on its doors, scholars have
assumed that the sanctuary was used for nenbutsu, or
Buddha-invocation, during which the name of Amitabha is chanted
repeatedly by aspirants either stationary before an icon of Amitabha
or circumambulating it.(70) Such nenbutsu is encouraged, as part of
contemplation of Amitabha, in the Visualization Sutra and other Pure
Land texts, as noted, and it was introduced to aristocrats of
Michinaga's generation through the teachings of the Tendai monks
Ryogen (912-985) and Genshin (942-1017). In 985 Genshin compiled a
collection of essays and quotations from scripture called Ojo yoshu,
or Essentials of Rebirth, in which were laid out the prerequisites
and means to rebirth in Sukhavati. Through the eleventh and twelfth
centuries this was used as a sourcebook for Pure Land imagery and
practice, and it is recognized as having contributed to the
popularity among aristocrats of nenbutsu as a religious rite.(71)
Nenbutsu in the time of Yorimichi, as it does today, involved
performative worship. Chanters do not necessarily sit quietly before
an image of Amitabha, and indeed circumambulation, prostration, and
even ecstatic dance have always been encouraged.(72) It is true that
Michinaga, engaged in nenbutsu at Muryojuin, secluded himself in a
narrow space in front of the main Amitabha, but he was extremely iii
at the time.(73) More typical were nenbutsu rites such as those held
regularly at Hosshoji, when devotees, among them emperors and
empresses, entered the Amitabha and Circumambulation halls to chant
and pray.(74)
The structural idiosyncrasies of the Phoenix Hall militate against
too ready an identification of its sanctuary as a ritual space for
nenbutsu in the standard manner. Comfortable movement around the
large Amitabha is difficult for more than one person, and
circumambulation around the hall is discouraged by the existence of
the lake and by the layout of the building itself. The Amitabha
seems withdrawn and distant despite its lovely visage, not at all
the welcoming manifestation of a Buddha to be celebrated through
chant and song. It presents instead a figure of pure meditation, to
which the solemn mudra bears witness. There is no evidence that the
sanctuary of the Phoenix Hall was used for organized nenbutsu either
in the time of Yorimichi or later.
Across from the Phoenix Hall, on the eastern bank of the lake,
are the foundations of a structure identified as the Little Palace,
or Kogosho, that is mentioned in various sources as the vantage from
which Yorimichi and his heirs gathered to observe the structure and
its garden. Such viewing of the Phoenix Hall was crucial to its role
at Byodoin, with virtually all visitors to the complex making a stop
at the Little Palace. Indeed, the organized viewing of the Phoenix
Hall from a distance, usually at the Little Palace but occasionally
from the banks of the lake, was the principal modality of its
reception. The Phoenix Hall was not used for the main ceremonials at
Byodoin, which invariably took place in the Main Hall or at other
structures. When it did figure in activities at the temple, as in
the celebration of the Lotus Sutra sponsored by Empress Kanshi in
1118 mentioned earlier, the Phoenix Hall served largely as a
backdrop for the monks, courtiers, musicians, and dancers gathered
in front of it or along its open galleries, on the shores of the
lake, and in boats and on platforms on the lake itself. During such
festivities Kanshi and her entourage watched from the Little
Palace.(75)
It has been suggested that the Phoenix Hall was the private
oratory of Yorimichi,(76) accessible only to him, and by definition
outside the framework of more public Buddhist ceremonial. Like
Michinaga at Muryojuin, Yorimichi may have retreated behind a set of
screens set up inside the Phoenix Hall directly in front of the
Amitabha, to chant and pray in seclusion. Certainly the paintings
would have been conducive to sustained reflection on rebirth in
Sukhavati and thus intense self-criticism and self-cultivation.
Possibly Yorimichi entered the sanctuary through its west doors,
having traversed the "tail" corridor as the most direct route from
his residence in the vicinity of the Main Hall, to engage there in
prayer and meditation directed to personal needs and goals.
The idea that the Phoenix Hall was intended to serve Yorimichi
"in private" may account for the anomalies of its construction, as
Ota Hirotaro, Ota Seiroku, and Shimizu Hiroshi suggest when they
describe the building as an "invention" dictated by circumstances
and protocols not typical of other architectural projects, even
those engendered by Yorimichi himself.(77) Yorimichi certainly drew
on a variety of sources for the hall, from palace architecture in
China to the audience halls of the imperial compound in Kyoto.(78)
Its parallels with the Kayanoin Mansion, noted by most scholars.(79)
confirm the presence of a domestic component. The sources for the
actual design of the Phoenix Hall, such as transformations of the
Visualization Sutra or manuals of Pure Land imagery, are not known.
Yorimichi may have collected such materials from visiting Chinese
merchants, who on occasion sold works of art to the Japanese royal
family and to courtiers.(80) Possibly versions of the Taima Mandala
or other Pure Land mandalas were available to him through family or
temple connections.
The result was an architectural transformation at the Phoenix Hall
where form and function literally embodied the teachings of the
Visualization Sutra. Shimizu notes in this context that the Phoenix
Hall is the first example in Japan of a building meant to be
appreciated entirely from its exterior.(81) The position of the
Little Palace across the lake from the main facade supports his
contention. Even today a glimpse of the face of the Amitabha through
the oval window in the lattice of the central doors to the Phoenix
Hall, no doubt designed with such an effect in mind, stimulates
prayers, nenbutsu, and exclamations of admiration from beholders on
the eastern shore of the lake [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 17 OMITTED].
The Phoenix Hall thus becomes the focal point of the forms of
visualization and meditation promoted in the Visualization Sutra,
which are themselves pathways to purification and rebirth. The
mantras inside the sculpture of Amitabha, written as they are on the
face of an opening lotus blossom evocative of rebirth in Sukhavati,
confirm the emphasis on observation and meditation at the Phoenix
Hall as routes of access to the Pure Land. According to the Manual
of Rituals (71c19-27), they yield the visions of Amitabha in
Sukhavati that generate fields of merit and epiphany. Their physical
presence within the sanctuary of the Phoenix Hall, inside the golden
icon that is its center of gravity and the point of departure for
nenbutsu, emphasizes the visionary scheme of the hall. The Phoenix
Hall is both a votive image, the object scanned by the eyes and mind
during ritual and prayer, and a mnemonic by which that image is
sustained.(82) It may well be that, like a sutra or a poem, the
Phoenix Hall was meant to be read and remembered, not entered.
How and why the Phoenix Hall was conceived in this manner bears
investigation from the discursive ground of its sociohistorical
determinants, where the relationship of text to history, so
troubling to critical theorists yet so compelling, must be engaged.
Much has been written about the Phoenix Hall as a sign invested with
the strength and legitimacy of the lineage to which Yorimichi
belonged as head of a family of regents to the throne.(83) In this
sense a statement about power, the Phoenix Hall emerges as an
important monument, elaborate and expensive, of a family of
aristocrats with a special claim to authority in the contingent
realms of politics and culture. It becomes a symbol of their
dominion.
Such an interpretation is convincing if it is assumed that the
Phoenix Hall was intended first and foremost as a monument with a
public purpose. But it is important to remember that contemporary
records, from the personal diaries of courtiers to state-sponsored
histories, have little to say about the Phoenix Hall but much in
regard to other temples and halls, at Byodoin and elsewhere. Even
records associated directly with Yorimichi and his lineage contain
few references to it, citing instead the events staged at the Main
Hall or among its residences, as noted. For these reasons another
reading is warranted that departs from, but does not necessarily
conflict with, the conventional understanding of the Phoenix Hall as
a representation of power and legitimacy.
Georges Duby has written that every language "has a word equivalent
to 'private,' a zone of immunity to which we may fall back or
retreat." For Duby this private realm is
a place where we may set aside arms and armor needed in the public
place, relax, take our ease, and lie about unshielded by the
ostentatious carapace worn for protection in the outside world. This
is the place where the family thrives, the realm of domesticity; it
is also a realm of secrecy. The private realm contains our most
precious possessions, which belong only to ourselves, which concern
nobody else.(84)
The ideological effects of its imagery and rich appointments
notwithstanding, the Phoenix Hall invites analysis as a
manifestation of private life and private concerns as defined by
Duby. To the extent that such concerns can be identified, they offer
a fruitful interpretative strategy for the exegesis of the Phoenix
Hall as a cultural product.
The year that Yorimichi converted his villa at Uji into the temple
Byodoin, 1052, was a momentous one. He had just turned sixty, a rite
of passage that brought with it intimations of approaching old age
and death. Epidemic raged in the capital in the months shortly
before and after the consecration of the Main Hall at Byodoin, with
sutra recitations and other rites staged to enlist the gods in its
containment.(85) A decision was made to change the era name in the
hopes of evading more suffering, and before the year was out fire
had ravaged one of the holiest of sites, the beloved temple
Hasedera. Many became convinced that they had lived to witness the
extinction of Buddhism as predicted by the Buddha.(86)
In a recent study Jan Nattier has examined what she identifies as
"the Buddhist prophecy of the decline of the Dharma," which
originated in India in the second century A.D., and was later
formulated in East Asia into three periods of "devolution." As
Nattier notes, Dharma in this sense refers to Buddhist teachings,
practices, and institutions, and its decline and extinction signify
the death of Buddhism.(87) Men and women of Yorimichi's generation
believed that the final period of decline, identified in
contemporary texts as Final Dharma, or Mappo, had begun in 1052. "In
the first month of that year we entered the Final Dharma," wrote the
author of Fuso ryakki, or Fuso Chronicles.(88) The Phoenix Hall was
consecrated fourteen months later.
Kaneko Hiroaki has explored the notion of the Final Dharma as a
determining factor in the development and reception of the Phoenix
Hall. He bases his analysis on the Manual of Rituals as a source of
imagery on the eradication of pollution and bad karma and on the
achievement of rebirth in Sukhavati as a form of release. In the
Manual of Rituals (67b29-67c3) Mahavairocana explains to the
bodhisattva Kongoju, or Vajrapani, that the world is stained by the
Final Dharma and its denizens burdened with evil karma. He instructs
him in the Amitayus mantras, teaches him the "three mystical
gateways" - body, mouth, mind - that configure nenbutsu, and
explains that, through such praxis, rebirth in the Pure Land becomes
possible and thus escape from the world of the Final Dharma is
assured (67c3-4).
Kaneko believes Yorimichi knew the Manual of Rituals and used its
teachings, with their strong Esoteric dimension, as a guide in
concentration and meditation on Amitabha and Sukhavati at the
Phoenix Hall. In this sense the Phoenix Hall, surrounded by water
and with a river flowing nearby, was at once a three-dimensional
manifestation of the Visualization Sutra, a representation of
Sukhavati, and the purified and purifying object of contemplation
expounded in the Manual of Rituals. The name Byodoin, "Byodo
Temple," itself may reveal Yorimichi's concern with the Manual, for
it recalls how Mahavairocana describes for Vajrapani the in-sight
that is attained through the act of visualization during chanting of
the Amitabha mantra. "One knows within oneself the Buddha nature,"
Mahavairocana says of visualization, "one understands the equality
[byodo] of the Dharma and the nonself" (Manual of Rituals,
71b23-24). In a world troubled by disease, calamity, and intense
fear,(89) and one moreover conceived as lost to the Final Dharma,
the solace offered in such a celebration of Amitabha and his
world-realm as the Phoenix Hall cannot be discounted for its force
as an object of heartfelt longing.
Empress Kanshi, who staged the Lotus Sutra celebration at Byodoin in
1118, was the second daughter of Yorimichi. In 1050 she entered the
palace of Emperor Go Reizei and in 1051 became his empress. Modern
scholars have shown little interest in Kanshi,90 and they have not
commented on the correspondence of her enthronement to the
construction of Byodoin by her father. But Kanshi was an important
figure at court and, as it happened, at Byodoin as well. Diary
records confirm that she spent much of her time at the complex until
her death in 1127. It was Kanshi, in fact, and not her brothers or
nephews who claimed Uji as a domicile. She was joined there on a
regular basis by the women of note who comprised her extended
family, among them Minamoto no Reishi (d. 1114), wife of the regent
Moromichi, and Minamoto no Shishi (d. 1148), who, once the consort
of Shirakawa, had been given in marriage to Yorimichi's
great-great-grandson Tadazane. It was also Kanshi who sponsored most
of the important ceremonies at the Phoenix Hall after the death of
her father in 1074.(91)
That Kanshi is rarely mentioned in connection with the Phoenix
Hall and Byodoin, despite primary material that amply demonstrates
her direct association with the complex, seems a remarkable lapse.
It also reveals the extent to which the realm of private life,
inaccessible and unwieldy even under the best conditions of
analysis, is routinely read out of the cultural maps with which the
past is negotiated, where all roads seem to lead to power struggles
among men. But for the Phoenix Hall it is precisely such an
engagement with the private, where Walter Cahn locates "meanings
attached to family structure and familial obligations,"(92) that
yields clues to its proper exegesis, whether in the context of a
world believed to be ending, or among the women whose bodies and
hearts sustained the families of men such as Yorimichi.
In 1069 Yorimichi is credited with having initiated the first
celebration at Byodoin of the Issaikyo, "All the Sutras," in which
recitations, lectures, prayers, and other services were held to
venerate the Buddhist canon, or Tripitaka.(93) In 1070 the
observance, given the name Issaikyoe, or Tripitaka Devotions, was
designated an annual event to take place on the third day of the
third month.(94) Kanshi was the main sponsor of the Tripitaka
Devotions in years to follow, which suggests that she was as
instrumental as her father, Yorimichi, in their development and
institutionalization at Byodoin. Indeed, through 1127, when she died
at Uji at the age of ninety-two years, Kanshi was the principal
figure at the Devotions, the presence of her great-nephew, Tadazane,
and other male descendants of Yorimichi notwithstanding.(95)
Diary accounts indicate that the Tripitaka Devotions were an
elaborate affair. Participants arrived at Byodoin to be escorted in
a procession around the Phoenix Hall, viewing it from the path that
skirted the eastern and southern shores of the lake, or stopping at
the Little Palace for prayers and observation. Musicians and dancers
performed along the shore of the lake or on boats and platforms on
its surface. The Phoenix Hall was clearly the center of attraction
at the Tripitaka Devotions, but the sanctuary was not utilized
during services, which instead were held behind the Phoenix Hall at
the Kyozo, or Sutra Repository.(96) As a beautiful backdrop to the
celebrations and an object of appreciation in its own right,
conducive to ruminations on Amitabha and his Pure Land, the Phoenix
Hall in this context certainly fulfilled an iconographical program
as a votive image. Possibly it is for such reasons that the date of
the Tripitaka Devotions coincided with the month in which the
Phoenix Hall had been consecrated.
Kanshi, Reishi, and the other influential women of the Fujiwara
family also staged at Byodoin, sometimes within the Phoenix Hall
itself, memorials to their husbands and other close male
relatives.(97) The Lotus Sutra rites sponsored in 1118 by Kanshi
were probably intended to memorialize Fujiwara ancestors in general,
and most of Yorimichi's descendants were in attendance. That the
Phoenix Hall figured in such memorial and penitential rites for
Yorimichi and his heirs suggests a strongly private dimension to the
function and reception of the chapel at Byodoin.
There is convincing evidence that neither the Tripitaka Devotions
nor the annual memorial services at Byodoin were events attended by
notables outside the main Fujiwara household and its retainers.
Unlike nenbutsu practices at Hosshoji or other temples, where
members of the royal family and nobles joined in celebrations of
Amitabha, ceremonies at Byodoin were concerned with the members of
Yorimichi's lineage and dominated by its women. By the twelfth
century the Tripitaka Devotions were so famous as to be mentioned in
virtually all court diaries, but participation was limited to a
small audience. In 1141 the empress Taikenmon'in (1101-45) initiated
Tripitaka Devotions at her own temple complex in Kyoto, Hokongoin,
in imitation of those at Byodoin, perhaps because access to the Uji
complex was so difficult.(98) The memorials at Byodoin, like the
Tripitaka Devotions, were a family affair largely confined to
persons closely affiliated with the Yorimichi line. Tadazane
assiduously attended the memorials even as he served as regent, to
the irritation of Emperor Shirakawa and others at court.(99)
Kanshi's husband, Go Reizei, made a trip to Byodoin in 1067, but
other visits by emperors and empresses were rare except in the case
of princesses with ties to Kanshi.(100) Shirakawa, as emperor and
retired emperor, traveled only five times to Uji, and Toba did not
pay it a visit until 1132.(101) During these years Shirakawa, Toba,
and their empresses made frequent excursions to shrines and temples
throughout the capital region, often passing Uji en route to their
destinations. But they did not stop at Byodoin, nor were they among
the participants at its Tripitaka Devotions, for which the Fujiwara
were wont to turn out in force.(102)
Shirakawa and Toba belonged to an imperial lineage at odds with that
of Go Reizei, and it is possible that Go Reizei's wife, Kanshi,
allowed only occasional visits by Shirakawa and Toba to Uji out of
loyalty to her husband and his family. Tadazane himself did not have
the best of relations with Shirakawa. But it seems equally likely
that, because Byodoin and the Phoenix Hall in particular belonged so
thoroughly to the realm of private life, they were not on the agenda
for royal excursions. Instead, the Byodoin complex was the province
of domestic Fujiwara business and ceremonials, the place where
Tadazane and Shishi took their children to play on the path around
the Phoenix Hall, or brought furnishings from home to decorate the
site during festivals. Thus, Tadazane greeted with horror the news
that a contingent of monks from Kofukuji in Nara, the pugnacious
tutelary temple of his family whose wars with other temples were
legendary, was expecting to be put up at Byodoin in preparation for
yet another march on Kyoto and its civilian government in 1116.(103)

It is true that the Phoenix Hall came to symbolize, and perhaps
even to embody, the prestige and legitimacy of Yorimichi's lineage,
and as such it was on many levels a statement about mandate in the
public sphere. But inquiry into its substrata, for the most part
private and hidden, yields a fruitful avenue of exploration. Like
the text of which it is a transformation in three dimensions, the
Phoenix Hall, once given form within a specific natural and cultural
landscape, invites the glosses of private readings. It is at once
the site of an act of merit generated by Yorimichi, perhaps to
celebrate his sixtieth year, or to ease the entry of a daughter held
dear, Kanshi, into the uneasy fabric of palace society; a place of
symbolic escape from disease and disorder; and the silent object of
pure observation that, like the calling out of Amitabha's name at
twilight, affirms the Buddha's presence nearby. In this sense the
Phoenix Hall is a great deal more than the physical manifestation of
a strategy of legitimation. It is a votive image that, poetic and
comforting, sustains a private cosmos replicating Sukhavati, itself
the domicile of Amitabha.
Shokomyoin
In the third month of 1136 Toba held the consecration ceremony that
marked the completion of Shokomyoin, a hall described as utterly
beautiful by those in attendance, and one whose realization was more
than likely greeted with a sigh of relief by all concerned.(104)
Some two years had elapsed since the project was first initiated at
the Toba Palace early in 1134. Minamoto no Morotoki was the project
supervisor and recorded in his diary, Choshuki, the various
difficulties that periodically brought construction to a halt and
incensed Toba. Once completed, however, Shokomyoin apparently
fulfilled its brief as an imitation of the Phoenix Hall and, as
noted, was so described in accounts of its consecration.(105)
Around 1130 Toba became interested in the Toba Palace on the
northern bank of the Kamo River just south of Kyoto proper, and by
1131 he had decided to move the ashes of his father, Shirakawa, to
the complex.(106) The area had always been popular with aristocrats,
for it was scenic and easily reached from the city, and under
Shirakawa an attractive section of wetlands along the river bank was
developed into a residential complex with several compounds.(107)
When Toba in the fourth month of 1134 initiated discussion of the
construction of a replica of the Phoenix Hall at the Toba
Palace,(108) he had already selected a site north of his main
domicile there, just as Yorimichi had chosen for his own hall a spot
not far from the Uji residence that was subsequently converted into
the Main Hall at Byodoin. Possibly Toba selected the Toba Palace for
Shokomyoin because it was not far from Uji, which was a short boat
trip away.(109)
Toba approached the construction of Shokomyoin with obsessive
interest. Around him was gathered a contentious group of financiers,
advisers, architects, painters, sculptors, and sundry others who met
regularly to discuss the project, which at several points was nearly
abandoned because of local flooding and even the arrest of the head
artisan for murder (Choshuki, 2:190-91, 196-97, 198, 202, 207-8,
215-16, 284, 295-96). Visits were made to Uji, the Phoenix Hall was
studied and sketched, and any alterations to its plan were carefully
considered (2:195a, 198a). Both Toba and Morotoki regularly
emphasized the need to "copy" the Phoenix Hall even as new features
were introduced (2:197a, 216a). Toba was particularly attentive to
measurements, ordering that the roof be lowered a few inches, and
forcing the head sculptor to recarve sections of the Amitabha statue
(2:194a, 197a, 202-3, 276-77, 285a).(110)
The formal statement of consecration provides a thorough description
of Shokomyoin as it looked in 1136.
Sincerely offered is one hall of tile roof, two stories, and one
bay of four sides. Enshrined within is a golden statue of Amitabha
that measures one jo and six shaku. A figure of Mahavairocana is
affixed to the mandorla, along with the Twelve Kobutsu [Twelve
Buddhas of Light] and Twenty-Five Bosatsu [Twenty-Five
Bodhisattvas]. The Lesser Amitabha Mantra is written in Sanskrit
characters on the surface of the attached mirrors. The canopy
contains eight figures of Hiten. On the four pillars are paintings
of the deities of the Womb and Diamond mandalas. On the doors on
four sides are paintings of the nine degrees of rebirth in Sukhavati
and scenes of the welcomings. In the aisle on four sides are
two-shaku five-sun statues of the bodhisattvas Fugen
[Samantabhadra]; Monjushiri [Manjusri]; Kokuzo [Akasagarbha]; Miroku
[Maitreya]; Jizo [Ksitigarbha]; Kaie; and Yuima Koshi [Vimalakirti];
and 223 two-shaku statues of all the Great Bodhisattvas, dragon
attendants, and eight classes of guardians. On the wall behind the
Amitabha are paintings of the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas and the nine
degrees of rebirth in Sukhavati. In the second story are enshrined
7-shaku 5-sun gold statues of the bodhisattvas Kongoho
[Vajradharma]; Kongori [Vajratiksna]; Kongoin [Vajrahetu]; and
Kongogo [Vajrabhasa]; and 32 four-shaku 5-sun polychrome statues of
the Gigaku Bosatsu [Bodhisattvas of Music and Dance!.(111)
In Choshuki (2:190-191, 206b, 276-77) Morotoki confirms that
Shokomyoin had an upper story with four bodhisattvas and numerous
other sculptures throughout the building, including mirrors and at
least thirty-eight relief figures attached to the mandorla. He also
records changes to the flooring of the galleries (2:285a).
Recently Shimizu has argued that Shokomyoin resembled the Phoenix
Hall only slightly. He cites the second story; structural features
such as plank flooring and what he interprets as freestanding
turrets (Morotoki's text is by no means clear); and hundreds of
sculptures on its interior, along with representations of the
Diamond and Womb worlds on the pillars of the sanctuary.(112) The
argument is based on the assumption that the interior of the Phoenix
Hall today is substantially what it was in 1136, but no such
assurance exists. Even Toba, as noted, complained because Tadazane
could not produce an original account of the design and construction
of the Phoenix Hall (Choshuki, 2:201a). Aside from the Amitabha
statue and the paintings of the nine degrees, what the interior of
the Phoenix Hall actually looked like in 1053 is a matter of
conjecture. It is by no means impossible that sculptures originally
stood in its outer aisles, that many more were mounted on its upper
walls or otherwise placed among the rafters, and that paintings of
the Diamond and Womb worlds, now lost or repainted, once occupied
the pillars in an iconographical configuration consistent with
Amitabha as an emanation of Mahavairocana.
From the exterior the Phoenix Hall appears to have an upper story
owing to its skirt roof. A person viewing the building from a boat
or the eastern shore of the lake will not necessarily be able to
determine whether it is in fact a two-storied building, nor will the
composition of its interior be clear. Morotoki records that,
preparatory to alterations in the height of Shokomyoin, Toba
examined it from a boat, that is to say, from a position outside the
hall (Choshuki, 2:197a). Shimizu places too great an emphasis on the
internal details and structural composition of Shokomyoin, none of
which is immediately visible from its exterior. Shokomyoin may well
have had an upper story, but, when viewed from the outside, so does
the Phoenix Hall.
Shimizu also downplays the concern with copying that is evident
throughout Morotoki's account of Shokomyoin. Toba visited Uji as
work began on Shokomyoin (Choshuki, 2:200-201), and Toba and
Morotoki sent artisans to the Phoenix Hall and later examined
sketches of the complex (2:195a, 198a). Morotoki on occasion even
seemed anxious that the format of the Phoenix Hall be followed
(2:197a, 216a). Toba's decision to have the roof of Shokomyoin
lowered and his reluctance to have an additional bay constructed in
each gallery (2:191a) indicate a strong desire to repeat the plan
and size of the Phoenix Hall. The effort was successful, for, as
noted, Shokomyoin on its consecration was described as a copy of the
Phoenix Hall. Even Shimizu at one time acknowledged that Shokomyoin
preserved the identifying features of the Phoenix Hall.(113)
What possessed Toba to build a replica of the Phoenix Hall and to
persevere in the endeavor despite serious setbacks and advice that
he abandon it? Samuel C. Morse has suggested that Toba, enamored of
the power that had accrued to the Fujiwara, associated as the
lineage was with Byodoin and the Phoenix Hall, built Shokomyoin as a
symbolic appropriation of their ancient mandate as the paramount
ruling family.(114) There is certainly truth to this claim that
Shokomyoin, as a mark of legitimation, emulated what might be called
the cultural capital of Yorimichi's famous lineage, and that Toba as
an astute statesman saw reason to accumulate such stock in his own
right.
There are, however, factors that underlie the telos of Shokomyoin as
an act of copying that originate in the same order of private life
that subtends the Phoenix Hall. Toba relied on the advice of
Yorimichi's great-grandson Tadazane throughout the design and
execution of Shokomyoin. When Toba visited the Phoenix Hall in 1134,
it was Tadazane who escorted him around the complex (Choshuki,
2:200-201), and it was to Tadazane that Toba turned during disputes
among artisans and designers at Shokomyoin (2:207b, 277a). Toba had
known Tadazane since childhood, when Tadazane had treated Toba with
affection despite the apparent dislike he held for Toba's father,
Shirakawa.(115) Toba could not have been happy when a deep rift
developed between Shirakawa and Tadazane in 1120, to result in
Tadazane's removal from government and his self-exile to Uji. It is
often argued that the dispute began when Tadazane refused to give
his only daughter, Taishi (1095-1155), in marriage to Toba, but the
situation in reality seems to have been much more complicated.(116)
Like Yorimichi on the accession to the throne of Go Sanjo in 1067,
Tadazane appears to have withdrawn to Uji with the expectation that
he would live out the rest of his life at Byodoin. In years to come
Tadazane would be given the epithet Ujidono, "Lord of Uji," a title
that he shared only with Yorimichi.(117)
Shirakawa dominated palace society even in retirement, and it was
not until his death in 1129 that Toba was able to rehabilitate
Tadazane, although the Fujiwara leader never again served as regent,
the post having passed to his son, Tadamichi (1097-1164). In 1132
Toba made an official visit to Uji, to be escorted around Byodoin by
a delighted Tadazane, who soon resumed his role as a player in court
intrigue.(118) Within the year Taishi was betrothed once more to
Toba, to enter the palace in the third month of 1134 as the third of
Toba's empresses.(119) A month later work began in earnest on
Shokomyoin with the ceremonial raising of its ridgepole (Choshuki,
2:191b). The association of Taishi with Shokomyoin seems to parallel
closely that of Kanshi with the Phoenix Hall, but it has escaped the
notice of historians. In 1139 Taishi took the formal title Kayanoin,
after the Kayanoin Mansion where she resided from time to time when
not at Uji with her parents. It is possible that Toba, fully
cognizant of Taishi's background, built on her behalf, and at the
time of her entry into his quarters, an imitation of a beautiful
structure that she held dear and that reminded her of the homes in
which she had grown to adulthood.(120) Perhaps she planned to hold
there Tripitaka Devotions like those she had attended as a child at
Byodoin.(121)
The four large statues that occupied the upper story of Shokomyoin
are identified in the statement of consecration as representations
of important Esoteric bodhisattvas, but Morotoki records that in the
original plan they were intended to depict Avalokitesvara,
Mahasthamaprapta, Ksitigarbha, and Nagarjuna (Choshuki, 2:288a). As
such the configuration of bodhisattvas around the figure of Amitabha
would have been consistent with the iconography of a
Circumambulation Hall, which, as noted, at Tendai temples was the
seat of meditations on Amitabha and Sukhavati. Two such halls had
been built at Hojoji, one (mentioned earlier) by Minamoto no Rinshi
in 1021, the other by Yorimichi's elder sister, Shoshi, in 1030.
Perhaps Taishi, as the most prominent woman of the Fujiwara lineage
of her day, thought to follow in the footsteps of her illustrious
ancestors by encouraging Toba to build at Shokomyoin, not just a
replica of the Phoenix Hall, but a structure that, in the discreet
privacy of its interior, could be used as a Circumambulation Hall
for retreats and meditation.
It may well be an accident of history, but it is nonetheless
striking that, as in the case of the Phoenix Hall, Shokomyoin was
constructed at a time of sickness and social instability. Diarists
describe the years 1134 and 1135 as unparalleled in their horrors,
from civil disorder to famine, epidemic "in the extreme," and a city
that had grown crowded with the dead and dying. Two months before
the consecration of Shokomyoin, in 1136, Fujiwara no Munetada
(1062-1141) wrote in his diary, Chuyuki, of the babies he saw
abandoned throughout Kyoto, and several weeks before the event he
noted once more the corpses, foundlings, and beggars that lined its
streets. Munetada is prone to speak at such times of signs of the
extinction of the Dharma.(122)
Under these circumstances it is reasonable to suppose that
Shokomyoin was for Toba and his new wife, in the moment it
replicated the Phoenix Hall, a place not necessarily dictated by
strategies of legitimation. Like the Phoenix Hall it can be compared
to a votive image framed by the private needs of the men and women
who from time to time used it as a focus of meditation and sought a
modicum of peace within its precincts as their society grew more
troubled. A memorial aspect, also reminiscent of the Phoenix Hall,
may well have been incorporated into the reception of Shokomyoin,
for the pagoda in which Shirakawa was interred, and where the ashes
of Toba would be deposited in 1156, stood just east of the
hall.(123)
A special resonance links the Phoenix Hall and Shokomyoin, its
source the often concealed ground of women's praxis. Both buildings
were three-dimensional realizations of a sutra about a woman, Lady
Vaidehi, and her quest for insight and rebirth beyond the realm of
suffering. There is every reason to believe that a vestige of the
world of Kanshi and Taishi, while only of peripheral concern to most
modern commentators, is to be found at the Phoenix Hall and
Shokomyoin, where the universe of private life intersected with the
public sphere, as would also hold true of Muryokoin.
Muryokoin
The sponsor of Muryokoin was neither an aristocrat nor an emperor;
in fact, he was regarded as a barbarian.(124) Despite his surname
Fujiwara no Hidehira was a product of the hinterland, having come to
power at Hiraizumi as the third in a dynasty of warlords who from
the late eleventh century had held sway over much of northern Japan
from their base at the confluence of the Koromo and Kitakami rivers.
Hidehira was to be the last of the Hiraizumi Fujiwara, as this
military house is known to history, and his temple, Muryokoin, was
the final project in a century of avid sponsorship of regional
Buddhism and Buddhist culture by his family. When Hidehira succeeded
as head of the domain on the death around 1157 of his father,
Motohira, three luxurious temples already existed in Hiraizumi. One
was Chusonji, built by his grandfather Kiyohira (d. 1128) on the
summit of the low mountain that marks the northwestern edge of
Hiraizumi; the others were Motsuji, sponsored by Motohira and
completed by Hidehira, and Kanjizaioin, sponsored by Motohira's
wife, both on the main road leading into the city from the
south.(125)
Hidehira initiated work on Muryokoin sometime between 1157 and 1187,
when he succumbed to illness and old age as Hiraizumi faced attack
by the warlord Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), new ruler of Japan,
and a man determined to wrest control of the north from the
Hiraizumi Fujiwara. Scholars assign to Muryokoin a tentative date of
1170, when Hidehira was appointed to high office.(126) The single
contemporary description of the hall, in a petition to Yoritomo
contained in the Kamakura history Azuma kagami, is so succinct as to
suggest that it was still under construction as late as 1189, when
the document was compiled by Hiraizumi monks seeking shogunal
protection for their temples. However, it is also possible that the
authors of Azuma kagami were reticent about Muryokoin because,
unlike the other Hiraizumi temples, it was part of a private
residence belonging to Hidehira.
Muryokoin no longer exists; like Shokomyoin it was lost to the river
near whose banks it was built. Its appearance is known through the
description in Azuma kagami and on the basis of modern study of the
site [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 18 OMITTED!.(127) The account in Azuma
kagami is indeed brief.
Muryokoin, the New Hall, was built by Hidehira. On its walls and
doors on four sides are paintings of the main teachings of the
Visualization Sutra; Hidehira himself has painted the scenes of
hunting. The main icon is a one-jo six-shaku sculpture of Amitabha.
There is a three-story pagoda. The precinct is beautiful. It is a
place copied in full after Uji's Byodoin.(128)
Excavation of the site in 1952 confirmed that the plan of Muryokoin
followed for the most part that of the Phoenix Hall. Facing east, it
stood on an island situated at a point oriented toward the western
shore of a lake created in the shape of a Sanskrit syllable, and it
consisted of a center chapel, measuring three narrow bays across and
two bays deep, flanked to north and south by L-shaped corridors
extending toward the lake. Just south of Muryokoin was what the
authors of Azuma kagami identify as Hidehira's "daily residence,"
Kara Mansion.(129)
As in the case of Shokomyoin, a number of Muryokoin's features
indicate that it departed somewhat from the Phoenix Hall. That
Hidehira painted scenes of hunting on the walls of Muryokoin is
puzzling, although not inconsistent with the last meditation in the
Visualization Sutra (346a13), where killers are described as
eligible for rebirth in Sukhavati through faith in Amitabha. Such
scenes are found neither at the Phoenix Hall nor in depictions of
the nine degrees of rebirth in other Amitabha Halls, and they may
derive from an idiosyncratic interpretation of the sutra by Hidehira
to accommodate both personal belief and a northern heritage that
celebrated hunting as indicative of military prowess.(130)
Muryokoin differs slightly from the Phoenix Hall in plan as well
as in the subject matter of its paintings. Study of the foundations
has shown that Muryokoin contained an extra bay in each gallery,
making it approximately 36 feet (11 m) larger than the Phoenix Hall
from north to south.(131) No evidence exists of a "tail" corridor
(but this may well be due to flood damage). There was another island
in the lake directly east of the center chapel. On this stood three
structures, closely aligned along an east-west axis governed by the
chapel.
It is unclear why Hidehira chose to build a replica of the Phoenix
Hall near his main domicile in Hiraizumi. The argument can be made
that he was impressed by the cultural productions of the powerful
Fujiwara lineage associated with the Phoenix Hall, that of
Yorimichi, and sought to match them by appropriating one of the most
famous of Fujiwara monuments as a sign of his own power. Both
Kiyohira and Motohira had administered landholdings in northern
Japan for Tadazane and Yorinaga, direct descendants of Yorimichi,
and Motohira had ties to Tadamichi, whose calligraphy graced the
ceremonial placard that hung at the entrance to Motsuji.(132)
Without doubt Hidehira knew not only of the Phoenix Hall but also of
the significance it held for the family that had lived and worshiped
within its precincts for more than a century. To assume, however,
that such significance was primarily political or ideological,(133)
and that Muryokoin was the core construct in a symbology of rule,
establishes an unnecessarily limited framework for its analysis.
Kanno Seikan has proposed that the island at the center of the lake
at Muryokoin was intended to serve as a site for meditation. It
stood across the water from Muryokoin just as the Little Palace at
Byodoin faced the Phoenix Hall from the eastern shore of its lake.
In each case the worship hall, as an embodiment of the Visualization
Sutra, set before its beholders a vision of Sukhavati, which, in
keeping with the teachings of that sutra, ideally guided
practitioners into a state of deepening concentration symbolized by
the hands of the Amitabha.(134) As such, Muryokoin lends itself to
analysis as a place and a building not necessarily governed by
dictates of power.
Quite possibly, even, it existed as a zone of refuge from the
anxieties of power. As Hidehira was forced by a weakening central
government into a position hostile to Yoritomo, war became a
certainty. Like the Phoenix Hall and Shokomyoin for their own
sponsors in times of perceived instability, Muryokoin provided for
Hidehira a votive image of "another world" where conflict and
violence did not exist. A person engaged in meditation on the island
in the lake might well have awoken from trance to an illusion of
having been reborn on the waters in front of Amitabha's palace in
Sukhavati, a domain far removed from the "teeming hells" of the
everyday world.
In this context Kanno has argued convincingly that, like the Phoenix
Hall, Muryokoin was designed with the sky at twilight in mind. He
has calculated that the peak moment of observation, when the sun
sank behind the hall to silhouette it against the evening sky,
occurred in Hidehira's day in the lunar month when ceremonies were
held in memory of Kiyohira and Motohira. As such, he maintains,
Muryokoin was conceived as both the memorial temple of the Hiraizumi
Fujiwara and a representation of the Pure Land into which, by prayer
and merit, they would be delivered.(135)
Who would tend the memorials once Hidehira was gone? Not
surprisingly the Phoenix Hall provides a precedent in its primary
resident, Empress Kanshi, as does Shokomyoin in the person of
Taishi. Hidehira took a Fujiwara woman from Kyoto as his wife. She
arrived in Hiraizumi early in the 1150s with her father, Fujiwara no
Motonari (ca. 1120-?), who, after nearly a decade as a local
governor, opted not to return to Kyoto. As Tsunoda Bun'ei has shown,
Motonari belonged to a highly political Fujiwara line collateral to
that of Yorimichi, and his half-brother, Nobuyori (1133-1159), was
on intimate terms with Emperor Toba. Despite pedigree, status, and
very close ties to the imperial house through female relatives who
served as wet nurses to royal offspring, Motonari elected to live
out his life in Hiraizumi, first as a confidant of Motohira, and
later as adviser to Hidehira. Motonari's decision to remain in
Hiraizumi is usually attributed to Nobuyori's arrest and execution
for a failed coup d'etat on the death of Toba in 1156.(136)
Nothing is known about Hidehira's wife, nor is she considered to be
one of the reasons her father never returned to Kyoto. Nonetheless,
her influence seems to have been considerable. Coincident with her
presence in Hiraizumi is the appearance at its temples of imagery
associated with the Phoenix Hall. Kanjizaioin, sponsored by
Motohira's wife around the time of his death in 1157, bore on the
walls of its sanctuary paintings of sacred sites around the capital,
among them the Phoenix Hall.(137) Since Motohira's wife was a local
woman,(138) it is likely that she learned in detail about such
places, and the Phoenix Hall in particular, from someone who had
actually seen them, perhaps a Fujiwara daughter-in-law.
Hidehira's wife, possibly with her father as adviser, may also have
had a role in the design and planning of Muryokoin. Her paternal
grandfather, Tadataka, had been one of the primary financiers of
Shokomyoin.(139) Recently Kanamaru Yoshikazu has suggested that
Muryokoin was modeled, not directly on the Phoenix Hall but on its
imitation at Shokomyoin, and indeed the similarities are striking,
from construction of the halls directly north of the main domicile
of the sponsor to structural changes in the galleries.(140) Perhaps
most compelling, Hidehira's wife at Muryokoin echoes the other women
of the Phoenix Hall paradigm. Like Kanshi and Taishi, she was given
in marriage to a powerful man, and in her wake, perhaps even as a
form of dowry proffered by a doting father, there came a splendid
realization in architecture of the Visualization Sutra. For a woman
brought from the polish of Kyoto to settle in a territory not unlike
the American Wild West, where her husband and sons in years to come
would engage in battles that would destroy them, what better place
for solace than a three-dimensional representation of Sukhavati that
replicated, in form and in function, the temples she had known in
childhood as part of the heritage of her family?
In its genealogy Muryokoin must be understood as constituted in
large part by an order of experience situated behind the scenes of
power struggle that hold the attention of most historians. This is
Duby's "realm of domesticity," where Muryokoin, like the Phoenix
Hall and Shokomyoin, is the precious possession of its sponsors in
the idiosyncratic privacy of their home and desires, a domain of
memorials to ancestors, personal meditation on a compassionate
Buddha in a time of need, individualized expressions of faith or
possibly penitence (the hunting scenes), and, perhaps, reminiscence.

Replications
The Phoenix Hall through its replications is a monument both
curious and compelling. It is at once a building and a scripture,
its point of departure a visionary text whose goal is realization,
and reification, of a mental image of the transcendent realm of
Amitabha in Sukhavati. As such the Phoenix Hall takes form before
its beholders as an object of longing, the desire for which can only
be fulfilled through the double release of enlightenment and the
death of a subject. Consequently, it yields several "thicknesses of
art," to borrow from Marcel Proust,(141) that enrich its reception
and interpretation as a cultural monument.
That the Phoenix Hall is a votive image, intended for observation
from afar, seems evident on the basis of miniaturized aspects such
as the low upper stories of the galleries and turrets, and the
illusion of two stories for a center chapel in fact having only one.
It can be likened to a theme park with Sukhavati the object of
depiction and pleasurable examination from a path that must be ever
external to it. Possibly this is the reason why the Phoenix Hall was
imitated while other temples and halls were not. For, as a
"miniature Sukhavati" in a parklike setting, it became copyable, a
"surface" readily transcribed elsewhere, with later replications
charged with nostalgia for the primary monument.(142)
Replication, in all of its overdetermination, seems to be in large
part a strategy of preservation. The acts of copying associated with
the Phoenix Hall were also acts of coping. Whether in the
replication of the paradise set forth by a beloved sutra or of
paradisal buildings invested with its imagery, copying brings to
mind what Michael Taussig in another context has called "the magical
power of replication."(143) Redundancy, in ritual as in cybernetics
or a military aircraft, localizes and stabilizes its charge, be it
information or the unseen forces of the divine. Just as in times of
epidemic and disaster, as intimations of the Final Dharma grew
manifold, sutras were transcribed by the thousands at the imperial
palace or in the homes of courtiers,(144) so it might be argued that
copies of the Phoenix Hall, as a transformation of the Visualization
Sutra and an image of Sukhavati, offered to their sponsors a moment
of respite, even comfort, through the very redundancy of the act of
transcription.
In redundancy lies the ground of mimesis, which yields an
unexpectedly rich exegesis of the Phoenix Hall through its
transcriptions. Rene Girard in Violence and the Sacred provides the
unlikely conceptual model that, applied to Shokomyoin and Muryokoin,
leads to an enhanced analysis of the phenomenon of copying
associated with the Phoenix Hall. Girard isolates desire, conflict,
and mimesis as the primary drives by whose triangulated dynamic the
ecstatic condition of many religions is formed. He speaks of a
godlike Dionysus as an object of longing that is a "chimera," ever
elusive, and desire for him as simply the desire for what another
man has. Thus Dionysus, as in The Bacchae of Euripedes, disappears
"as the men who sought to bend him to their uses turn on one another
with murderous intent."(145)
Violence at Shokomyoin and Muryokoin seems a complete absurdity
until Girard's mimetic triad is introduced. The peacefulness of the
Pure Land imagery hides a negative ground of conflict and
competition.(146) Both monuments were built by men in imitation of
other men with whom, or more accurately with whose political
interests and public transcripts of mandate, they were at odds. Toba
may have enjoyed cordial relations with Tadazane, but ultimately the
two men stood in opposition, with Toba maneuvering to dominate and
even remove from power those affiliated with the Fujiwara lineage of
Yorimichi. As a regional warlord Hidehira, whether it was in
emulation of Tadazane or Toba that he built Muryokoin, knew them
also as threats to the integrity of his domain.(147)
The replication of the Phoenix Hall by men who were ultimately
rivals of its founding family, yet who married women of that family,
seems an act both desperate and perfectly reasonable. It is not one
whose primary impetus is to be found in the public spectacle of
legitimation. Rather, the act of mimesis here belongs to the
private, (and sometimes nightmarish) realm, a kind of morning after,
of longing for a wish-image that, meant to satisfy desire and for a
moment countenanced in the thrill of a monument built and relished,
instead slips away as it is appropriated, just as the realm of
Amitabha recedes ineluctably before those who would have it.
The drama of desirous males does not, however, encompass all of the
phenomena of replication surrounding the Phoenix Hall. In the
opening passages of the Visualization Sutra (341a-b) a royal woman,
troubled by the rivalries and politicking of her husband and son,
calls out to the Buddha for release from her sufferings, and in
response he grants her a vision of Sukhavati and the assurance of
rebirth there. In this sense the Phoenix Hall and its copies perhaps
represented, for Kanshi, Taishi, and Hidehira's now nameless wife, a
parallel universe that, like Sukhavati, offered escape from the
travails of daily life. In that universe of women's praxis were held
the rites by which whole families were sustained, from penitiential
readings of the Lotus Sutra and memorials to the dead to annual
festivities celebrating the Buddhist canon. At the Phoenix Hall, at
Shokomyoin, and at Muryokoin, the women of the Fujiwara entered the
domain sought by Lady Vaidehi, where the golden form of Amitabha
rose above the purifying waters of a lake. Here Sukhavati took form
as a "generalized religious goal" in the sense proposed by Gregory
Schopen, as not only a place or a pure land, but also a state of
mind.(148)
When the lake at the Phoenix Hall is still and the light from the
sun clear, the building and the face of the sculpture, framed in the
oval of its window, are reflected on the surface of the water. It is
a scene that evokes the power of reflection in Buddhist practice,
with the heart and mind mirrored in the object of contemplation. It
also recalls the many descriptions in A Tale of Flowering Fortunes
of the mirrorlike surfaces, from the lake to polished wood floors,
on which the halls and fixtures of Hojoji are seen in "beautiful
reflections." The ideograph used for such reflections, sha, or
"copy," is the same as that by which Shokomyoin and Muryokoin are
identified as imitations of the Phoenix Hall.(149)
Are Shokomyoin and Muryokoin "mirrorings" of the Phoenix Hall? Is
the Phoenix Hall itself a reflection of Sukhavati brought to bear
upon the world of desire? Such questions, with their implications of
artifice and inversion, recall Theodor Adorno's observation that the
"oldest means of enlightenment" is the ruse.(150) Perhaps this is
why the Buddha smiles as he begins to explain for Lady Vaidehi the
sixteen visualizations by which she will see the Pure Land like her
own face in a mirror.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting
of the Association for Asian Studies in Boston in 1994. I owe
special gratitude to Walter Cahn, Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis, Melanie
Drogin, and the anonymous readers for the Art Bulletin for their
comments and criticisms. I would also like to thank Mary Laing for
the attentive editing of the manuscript. In references Japanese
names are quoted in the Japanese order, surname first, except in the
case of individuals who use the Western system. Japanese year dates
(year name and number) are followed by the Western year, month, and
day, e.g., Eisho 7/1053.1.26. For convenience in citations from
diaries published as multiple volumes in a series, where volume
numbers are those of the series and not the diary, the diary volume
reference is given in arabic numerals beginning with 1 for the first
volume, followed by a colon and the page number. Translations are
mine unless otherwise indicated.
1. In documents of the 11th and 12th centuries the Phoenix Hall is
called the Uji Mido, "Venerable Hall at Uji"; Byodoin Daido, "Great
Hall at Byodoin"; and Byodoin Amidado, "Amida Hall at Byodoin." This
terminology continues into the 17th century, when it is replaced by
Byodoin Hoodo, "Phoenix Hall at Byodoin," now the most widely used
designation. For a compendium of primary texts on Byodoin and the
Phoenix Hall from 1052 through 1782 see Ota H., "Shiryo," in Byodoin
taikan, I, 94-112.
2. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Uji could be reached from Kyoto,
overland or by boat, in less than a day, as when Emperor Shirakawa
visited in 1087 and 1091, and Emperor Go Shirakawa in 1170. For
Shirakawa's visit, see Fuso ryakki, 327 (Otoku 4/1087.5.19), and Go
Nijo Moromichi ki, 2:175 (Kanji 5/1091.10.12); for Go Shirakawa, see
Heihanki, 5:155a-b (Kao 2/1170.4.19).
3. Titles of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhist scriptures are
given first in the conventional Japanese transliterations and then
in the Sanskrit, which thereafter are used in the text.
4. Ito, 208; Ota H., 15; Tanaka, 73; and Ota S., 264-65.
5. Ota H., 16-17; and Shimizu, 1992, 79.
6. Muryoju Butsu, or Amitayus, "Buddha of Immeasurable Life," is
one of several epithets by which Amitabha is known in scripture.
Translations of the Visualization Sutra into English are based on
Kan Muryoju kyo, in Taisho shinshu daizokyo, XII, 340-346 and follow
the modern Japanese translation in Iwano S., ed., Kokuyaku Issaikyo,
XLIV, Tokyo, 1970, 57-75. For an English translation, see Ryukoku
Translation Center, The Sutra of Contemplation on the Buddha of
Immeasurable Life as Expounded by Sakyamuni Buddha, Kyoto, 1984.
7. K. Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine:
Ching-ying Hui-yuan's Commentary on the Visualization Sutra, New
York, 1990, xx-xxi, 9-11, 72-76. As Tanaka notes, injunctions to
"see," "behold," and "visualize" abound in the Visualization Sutra,
each derivative of the Sanskrit term anusmrti: e.g., in the first
visualization aspirants are instructed to "see" or "look at" (J.
gen; Skt. darsana) (342a1,2); "think of" or "imagine" (J. so; Skt.
samjna) (341c29); "visualize" (J. kan; Skt. vipasana) (342a2); and
"contemplate" (J. nen; Skt. smriti) (342a1) the sun. For discussion
of these terms, see Ryukoku Daigaku, ed., Bukkyo daijii, 6 vols.,
Tokyo, 1972-73, II, 915-16, 1063, v, 3045, 3764.
8. For example, in 1091 Yorimichi's grandson Fujiwara no Moromichi
(1062-1099) sponsored ten days of sutra chanting at Enryakuji on
Mount Hiei near Kyoto in connection with what he described in his
diary as "disturbances and strife in our world that do not subside"
(Go Nijo Moromichi ki, 2:123, Kanji 5/1091.5.13).
9. For the practice of sutra copying and the most frequently
transcribed sutras, see W. Tanabe, Paintings of the Lotus Sutra, New
York/Tokyo, 1988; Oyama N., Nihon no bijutsu, 156, Shakyo, Tokyo,
1979; and K. Mizuno, Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development,
Transmission, Tokyo, 1982, 170-171. English translations of the
titles of the Larger and Smaller Sukhavativyuha-sutra are based on
Tanaka (as in n. 7), XVII.
10. For discussion of the henso convention, see J. Okazaki, Pure
Land Buddhist Painting, trans. E. ten Grotenhuis, New York/San
Francisco, 1977, 29-36. For important studies of the Taima mandala,
see E. ten Grotenhuis, "Rebirth of an Icon: The Taima Mandala in
Medieval Japan," Archives of Asian Art, XXXVI, 1983, 59-87; and
eadem, The Revival of the Taima Mandala in Medieval Japan, New York,
1985. The original Taima mandala, a tapestry now extant only in
fragmentary form, is located at the temple Taimadera in Nara.
Numerous copies of the mandala were produced in the 13th century and
later, but none dating to the 11th century has been identified.
11. See Tanaka, 73-75; Shimizu, 1992, 81; Murayama S., Jodokyo
geijutsu to Mida shinko, Tokyo, 1977, 97; Miya T., "Gokuraku
saigen," in Goto S., ed., Nihon koji bijutsu zenshu, XV, Tokyo,
1980, 97; and Akiyama T., "Zengen," in Byodoin taikan, III, 11.
12. There is evidence for three-dimensional mandalas in sculptural
form, but Pure Land representations are not among them. The group of
statues in the Lecture Hall at Toji in Kyoto is a well-known
example; see Takata O., "Toji kodo no shoson to sono mikkyoteki
igi," Bijutsu kenkyu, CCLIII, Sept. 1967, 1-76. Accounts of such
mandalas are also seen in diaries, as when Fujiwara no Munetada
records a Hokuto Mandala, "North Star Mandala," consisting of some
fifty statues (Chuyuki, 3:360b, Tennin 1/1108.6.23). For an
illustration of a mandala in sculptural form, see H. Ishida,
Esoteric Buddhist Painting, trans. E. D. Saunders, Tokyo/New York,
San Francisco, 1987, 32.
13. At ceremonies for the consecration of a new pagoda at Byodoin in
1061 the Phoenix Hall was described as "utterly beautiful" and
conducive to meditative reflection on Sukhavati (Fuso ryakki, 298,
Kohei 4/1061.10.25). Tadazane used the ideograph mo, "copy" or
"imitation," to compare the Phoenix Hall to Sukhavati (Denryaku,
5:83, Gen'ei 1/1118.intercalary 9.22).
14. Chuyuki, 7:180b (Hoen 2/1136.3.23). The ideograph is sha, "copy"
or "transcribe."
15. Azuma kagami, 354 (Bunji 5/1189.9.17). The ideograph is mo,
"copy" or "imitation."
16. A similar example of architectural copying is documented for
Daichojuin, an Amitabha Hall built by Fujiwara no Kiyohira at
Chusonji in Hiraizumi in 1107, which was replicated in Kamakura in
1192 by Minamoto no Yoritomo and named Yofukuji (Azuma kagami, 474,
Enkyu 3/1192.11.20; and Sugiyama, 139-40).
17. See Hamashima M., "Jodo shinko to Hokekyo shinko," in Hamashima
M., ed., Zusetsu Nihon no bukkyo, III, Tokyo, 1989, 31; Ito, 208;
and Murayama, 98.
18. For studies of Michinaga, see Akagi S., Mido Kanpaku Fujiwara
Michinaga: Eiga to kensei e no shunen, Tokyo, 1969, and Yamanaka Y.,
Fujiwara Michinaga, Tokyo, 1988; for the modern mythologization of
Michinaga and his milieu, see Yiengpruksawan, 1994.
19. For other temples constructed by Michinaga, see Sugiyama, 87-93;
for residences, see Ota S., 149-77, 193-203.
20. For studies of Hojoji, see Shimizu, 1992, 42-68; and Sugiyama,
51-86.
21. For the evolution of the standard and nine-image Amitabha Hall,
see Sugiyama, 113-49; Hamada, 91-95, 111-16; Sugiyama N., "Amidado
no keifu," in Nihon koji bijutsu zenshu (as in n. 11), xv, 119-26;
and Shimizu, 1992, 230-302. For a listing of kuhon ojo zu in
Amitabha Halls, see Kanno, 153-55. For a contemporary description of
Muryojuin, see Tale, II, 564-66 (Eiga monogatari, 2:83-84).
22. Tale, II, 569 (Eiga monogatari, 2:88).
23. Tale, II, 762-63 (Eiga monogatari, 2:322).
24. In 1025-26 Muryojuin was moved to a more westerly location to
allow new structures to be added along the lake (Sugiyama, 65).
25. Tale, II, 564 (Eiga monogatari, 2:83).
26. For the origins of the shinden mode and an exhaustive study of
its evolution and variants as the architectural style favored by the
aristocracy for homes and villas, see Ota S., esp. 1-37, 220-63. As
defined by Ota (17-21) the term shinden, literally "sleep palace,"
refers to the master quarters of a palace complex, to which access
is limited to the resident and his or her family.
27. Shimizu, 1992, 65.
28. Tale, II, 571 (Eiga monogatari, 2:89).
29. Sakai M., Jotomon'in no keifu to sono shuhen, Tokyo, 1989,
109-15; and Hurst, 93, 101-6. While Hurst claims (102) that the
Fujiwara house may have "enjoyed greater power and glory under
Yorimichi than it had under Michinaga," circumstances during
Yorimichi's tenure, from his daughter's failure to produce a royal
heir to the emergence of a rival faction for control over the
imperial line of succession, seem to indicate otherwise; see
Takeuchi R., Ritsuryosei to kizoku seiken, II, Tokyo, 1958, 305-10.
30. Ota S., 235-36.
31. Shoyuki, 6:47 (Jian 1/1021.9.29). For the Kayanoin Mansion, see
Ota S., 244-52, 276-78.
32. Tale, II, 631 (Eiga monogatari, 2:157).
33. Sugiyama, 69, 73.
34. Ibid., 61, 74. The Circumambulation Hall, or Jogyodo, was one of
several types of meditation hall used in Tendai Buddhism. It served
for one of the principal forms of meditation promoted by the Tendai
school, called Jogyo zanmai, or "Ambulatory Concentration," which
involved regular ninety-day seclusion in a circumambulation hall for
chanting, circumambulation, and meditation focusing on Amitabha. As
such it served the Pure Land movement within Tendai and is the
prototype of the Amitabha Hall, or Amidado. In most cases its object
of worship was an image of Amitabha accompanied by four bodhisattvas
and, often, paintings of scenes of rebirth. For detailed analysis of
the Circumambulation Hall, see Shimizu, 1992, 230-51.
35. Sugiyama, 73-74.
36. Michinaga had purchased the villa from an associate in 999
(Shoyuki, 2:55, Choho 1/999.8.9). For Uji as an enclave of
aristocratic residences, see Sugiyama, 94-95; and Fukuyama, 7.
37. The conversion of residences into temples was common in the 11th
and 12th centuries. For example, the home of Ikuhomon'in, the
daughter of Shirakawa, was converted into a "Buddhist chapel" in
1097; see Hyakurensho, in Kuroita K., ed., Shintei zoho kokushi
taikei, XI, Tokyo, 1929, 44 (Jotoku 1/1097.10.14). It is not known
when Yorimichi actually initiated work on the Phoenix Hall, but
accounts of other large-scale Amitabha Halls suggest that at least a
year was required for construction. Michinaga had pledged to build
Muryojuin around the seventh month of 1019, some ten months before
its consecration in the third month of 1020 (Sugiyama, 59-60; and
Shoyuki, 5:171, Kannin 3/1019.7.17). Construction of the main
Amitabha Hall at Sonshoji in Kyoto took two years, and that of a
Nine-Image Hall at Rengezoin, also in Kyoto, nine months (Chuyuki,
2:312b, Kowa 5/1103.12.26; 3:63b, Choji 2/1105.10.19; 6:101b, Daiji
4/1129.8.3; 211a, Daiji 5/1130.7.2).
38. Fuso ryakki, 292 (Eisho 7/1052.3.28). The term Byodo, or
"Equanimity," may derive from the title of the second translation
into Chinese of the Sukhavativyuha-sutra, the Muryo Shojo byodokaku
kyo, or more commonly Byodokakukyo (C. Wuliang Qingjing pingdengjue
jing), by the Indian monk Lokaksema.
39. Shimizu, 1988, 21; Shimizu, 1992, 73-77; Sugiyama, 96-97; and
Fukuyama, 10-11. The figure of Mahavairocana, which measured seven
shaku, or approximately 6 1/2 ft. (2 m), was flanked by statues of
Shaka (Skt. Sakyamuni), Yakushi (Skt.
Bhaisajyaguruvai-duryaprabaraja), Daiitoku (Skt. Yamantaka), and
Fudo (Skt. Acala). For discussion of the Main Hall scholars rely on
a description of it recorded in 1204 (Mon'yoki, in Takakusu J. and
Watanabe K., eds., Taisho shinshu Daizokyo zuzo, XI, Tokyo, 1977,
423).
40. Fuso ryakki, 292 (Tengi 1/1053.3.4).
41. Choshuki, 2:201a (Chosho 3/1134.5.13).
42. The definitive study of Byodoin to date is Byodoin taikan; see
also Fukuyama T., Byodoin to Chusonji, Tokyo, 1964; and idem, Heian
Temples: Byodo-in and Chuson-ji, trans. R. K. Jones, New York/Tokyo,
1976. For restorations, which have affected in particular the
landscaping of the lake, see Fukuyama, 11-13; Muraoka, 67-68; and
Shimizu, 1992, 69.
43. Muraoka, 67; and Shimizu, 1992, 71-72.
44. Muraoka, 67. For "germ syllables" (J. shuji; Skt. bija) as
mystical representations of divinities, or parts of them, see E. D.
Saunders, Mudra: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist
Sculpture, Princeton, N.J., 1985, 23, 209.
45. Ito, 208. For the Kayanoin Mansion as an inspiration for the
Phoenix Hall, see Muraoka, 70; and Ota S., 274-75, 280.
46. Measurements are based on Omori K. and Suzuki Y., "Hoodo," in
Byodoin taikan, I, 27-28. The center chapel appears to be square
because the western extension of its porch has been incorporated as
the rear bay of the sanctuary.
47. Ota H. (15) notes that an upper story in the galleries and
turrets functions "simply to provide balance in the design"; see
also Omori K. and Suzuki Y., "Yokuro oyobi biro," in Byodoin taikan,
II, 44-45.
48. Measurements are based on Mizuno K., "Amida Nyorai zo," in
Byodoin taikan, II, 24; and Konno T., "Daiza," in ibid., 36.
49. Some of the Hiten are of later date; see Konno T., "Kohai," in
Byodoin taikan, II, 44.
50. Saunders (as in n. 44), 87-88.
51. Ota H., 15. Typically, a statue of Amitabha was accompanied by
smaller images, sculpted or painted, of Avalokitesvara and
Mahasthamaprapta, as at Muryojuin.
52. During restorations in 1966-71 the original door paintings were
removed and placed for safekeeping in the temple museum, to be
returned later on completion of the project. Discussion of the
Phoenix Hall paintings is based on Byodoin taikan, III, except where
otherwise indicated. For the paintings and their reconstructions see
ibid., pls. 2-5, supp. pls. 16-19. For a detailed analysis of the
paintings in connection with the Visualization Sutra, see Taguchi
E., Meiho Nihon no bijutsu, IX, Tokyo, 1982, 116-37; for their
significance in the emergence of a Japanese landscape aesthetic, see
Akiyama T., "The Door Paintings in the Phoenix Hall of the Byodoin
as Yamatoe," trans. Timon Screech, Artibus Asiae, LVIII, nos. 1-2,
1993, 144-66.
53. Taguchi (as in n. 52), 49; and Mizuno, 63. Minamoto no Morotoki
(1077-1136), supervisor of the replication of the Phoenix Hall at
Shokomyoin in 1134, referred to the relief sculptures as Kuyo
Bosatsu (Choshuki, 2:191a, Chosho 3/1134.4.10).
54. For the commentary by Shandao, see Kan Muryojubutsu kyoso (C.
Kuan Wuliangshou fu qingshu)in Takakusu J. and Watanabe K., eds.,
Taisho shinshu Daizokyo, XXXVII, Tokyo, 1926, 245-78. For Taima
mandala precedents, see ten Grotenhuis, 1985 (as in n. 10), 132-52;
and Yamamoto K., Jodokyo kaiga, Tokyo, 1975, 185-202.
55. I am grateful to Professor Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis for sharing
with me her analysis of dimensionality and spatial configurations in
the Taima Mandala.
56. Tanaka, 73; Ota H., 15; Shimizu, 1992, 79-82; and Ota S.,
270-73.
57. Such alignments were attemped at a number of temples based on
Pure Land scripture; see Yamaori T., "Tokushu: Kumyo to byakudo,
Raigozu no kaimei," in Hamashima M., ed., Zusetsu Nihon no bukkyo,
III, Tokyo, 1989, 167.
58. Chuyuki, 5:79b-80a (Gen'ei 1/1118.intercalary 9.22). I have
based death dates for empresses and women of the aristocracy on
entries in this, Denryaku, and other diaries, since few biographical
dictionaries or other secondary sources supply them. For a list of
empresses and princesses, see Chuyuki, 6:164-65 (Daiji 5/1130.2.21).

59. Tendai Esotericism, or Taimitsu, is distinguished from Shingon
Esotericism, or Tomitsu, whose primary focus is Mahavairocana. For a
recent survey of Esotericism with emphasis on its visual culture,
see Sekiguchi, M., ed., Zusetsu Nihon no bukkyo, II, Tokyo, 1988,
esp. 212-35. For the integration of Pure Land and Esoteric worship
practices, see Hayami T., Jodo shinko ron, Tokyo, 1987, 187-201.
60. Fukuyama, 13; and Shimizu, 1992, 71. Byodoin is identified as
"independent" in the current directory of temples in Japan (Nihon
Jiin Meikan Kanko Kai, ed., Nihon jiin meikan, I, Tokyo, 1982,
1207).
61. The principal object of worship in the Main Hall at Hojoji was a
sculpture of Mahavairocana that stood some 29 1/2 ft. (9 m) in
height (Sugiyama, 62; Shimizu 1992, 46; and Tale, II, 554-55 [Eiga
monogatari, 2:69-70!).
62. Matsuura, 39-45. Matsuura begins his argument (38-39) by noting
that a number of the relief sculptures have ink inscriptions that
identify them as Estoeric bodhisattvas, e.g., Kongosatsu, or
Vajrasattva [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 15 OMITTED!; see also Mizuno,
62-63.
63. Zuzosho, in Takakusu J. and Watanabe K., eds., Taisho shinshu
Daizokyo zuzo, III, Tokyo, 1932, 8c; Besson zakki, in ibid., 96c,
103a; Yoritomi M., Mandala no kansho kiso chishiki, Tokyo, 1991,
78-79, 144-45; and Matsuura, 39-40. For the names of the eight
bodhisattvas, which vary, see Matsuura, 39, 43-44. For a
13th-century example of the Mandala of Eight, see Sawa R., ed.,
Mikkyo bijutsu taikan, II, Tokyo, 1984, fig. 65.
64. Mizuno, 62-63; Nishikawa S. and Mizuno K., "Hoodo no chokoku,"
in Byodoin taikan, II, 8-10. Both the Phoenix Hall and its Amitabha
sculpture are treated as monuments of Esoteric Buddhism in Sawa R.,
ed., Mikkyo bijutsu taikan (as in n. 63), II, 224-25. Recently Sudo
Hirotoshi has described the Phoenix Hall as a form of Amitabha
mandala (Sudo H., Amida shoju raigozu, Tokyo, 1994, 84).
65. Saunders (as in n. 44), 92.
66. Kaneko H., "Hoodo Amida Nyoraizo to kanso," Museum, CCCXXV, Apr.
1978, 4; and Hamada, 83. For the concentration mudra in Amitabha
statuary, see Tamura R., "Join Amida Nyoraizo o meguru shomondai,"
Bukkyo geijutsu, LXV, Aug. 1967, 1-14. I use the model of catalepsy
and Buddhist concentration after Bernard Faure, "The Zen Icon,"
paper given at the Conference on the Buddhist Icon in Its Monastic
Context, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., 1994.
67. For the Diamond and Womb worlds and their indexing as mandalas,
see Yoritomi (as in n. 63), 106-38; and Ishida (as in n. 12), 33-46.
Ten Grotenhuis has explored the structural and iconographical
associations of the nine grades of rebirth of the Taima Mandala with
the nine assemblies of the mandala of the Diamond World (Conference
on the Buddhist Icon in Its Monastic Context, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ont., 1994). Elsewhere she has argued convincingly for a
paradigm of pre-Buddhist political and sacred geography, in
particular that of ancient China, as critical to the emergence of
the nine-sectored hierarchy of space in the Taima Mandala (E. ten
Grotenhuis, "The Sacred Geography of Amitabha's Pure Land," paper
given at the New England East Asian Art History Seminar, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Mass., 1994). See also eadem, The Sacred
Geography of Japanese Mandalas, forthcoming.
68. Kaneko (as in n. 66), 4-6; Mizuno K., "Amida Nyorai to sono
shogon: Nonyuhin," in Byodoin, II, 25-26. The formulas are
identified in Japanese as the Muryoju Nyorai shin shingon, or True
Mantra of Amitayus, which is also called the Amida shoju, or Little
Amitabha Incantation; and the Muryoju Nyorai konpon darani, or Root
Dharani of Amitayus, also called the Amida daiju, or Big Amitabha
Incantation. For the texts of the formulas, see Manual of Rituals,
71b-72b; Zuzosho (as in n. 63), 8c-9a; Besson zakki (as in n. 63),
95a, 96b-c, 97a-b. For the full moon as a ground for visualization,
see T. Yamasaki, Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Boston/London,
1988, 100-101, 213-15.
69. E. ten Grotenhuis, "The Byodoin Garden: Layers of
Reconstruction," paper read at the annual meeting of the College Art
Association, New York, 1994; Great Sun Sutra (J. Dainichikyo, full
title Daibirushana jobutsu jinben kaji kyo; Skt.
Mahavairocanabhisambodhi-vikurvitadhisthana-vaipulya-sutrendra-raja
nama dharmaparyaya-sutra), in Takakusu J. and Watanabe K., eds.,
Taisho shinshu Daizokyo, XVIII, Tokyo, 1928, 38a26. For meditation
on the A-syllable, see Yamasaki (as in n. 68), 190-215; and
Mochizuki S., Mochizuki bukkyo daijiten, I, Tokyo, 1929, 24-25.
70. Murayama (as in n. 11), 96-97; Morse, 99; Murai Y., "Ocho kizoku
to jodo shinko," in Goto S., ed., Nihon koji bijutsu zenshu (as in
n. 11), XV, 95; Nakano G., "Byodoin Hoodo," in Nakano G., ed., Nihon
bijutsu zenshu VII, Tokyo, 1978, 139; and Miyamoto C., "Amidado to
Jodo te'ien," in Goto S., ed., Nihon bijutsu zenshu, VII, 155.
71. For nenbutsu, see Ojo yoshu, in Ishida M., ed., Genshin Ojo
yoshu Tokyo, 1991, 345-60.
72. For nenbutsu practices, see Hamada, 65-67, 75-76; Yamada S.,
"Koshiki: Bukkyo geijutsu no sogo," in Hamashima, ed. (as in n. 57),
258; and Fujii M., "Jodokyo to girei," in Hamashima, ed. (as in n.
57), 342-43.
73. Tale, II, 760 (Eiga monogatari, 2:322).
74. See, e.g., Go Nijo Moromichi ki, 1:57 (Otoku 1/1084.3.11); and
Chuyuki, 2:197a (Jotoku 2/1098.9.22), 6:294b (Chosho 1/1132.3.10).
75. Shimizu, 1992, 77; Shimizu, 1988, 21; and Chuyuki, 5:79-81
(Gen'ei 1/1118.i9.22). On visits in 1132 and 1134 Emperor Toba
viewed the Phoenix Hall from a route along the shore of its lake and
from the Little Palace, as did Emperor Go Shirakawa in 1158
(Chuyuki, 6:332a, Chosho 1/1132.9.24; Choshuki, 2:200b, Chosho
3/1134.5.13; and Heihanki, 3:51a-b, Hogen 5/1158.10.18). For a
reconstruction of the formal route of access at Byodoin, see
Shimizu, 1992, 71-72. For ceremonies in the Main Hall and other
chapels, see Fuso ryakki, 328 (Kanji 2/1098.2.22); Chuyuki, 1:293a
(Kaho 2/1095.9.30); and Denryaku, 1:204 (Kowa 5/1103.3.11), 4:185
(Eikyu 3/1115.9.30), 258 (Eikyu 4/1116.9.19).
76. Ota H., 15. Akiyama (as in n. 11), 15, maintains that the
painting on the eastern face of the reredos, behind the Amitabha
sculpture, was commissioned by Yorimichi toward the end of his life
as a confirmation of his personal devotion to Amitabha; the scene
shows three men with offerings to the Buddha. The role of the
Phoenix Hall as Yorimichi's principal prayer chapel, or jibutsudo,
is by no means certain; Shimizu, 1992, 74-75, has emphasized that
the jibutsudo was in fact part of the Main Hall complex.
77. Ota H., 16-17; Ota S., 274; and Shimizu, 1992, 79.
78. Ota H., 17; Tanaka, 76-79; Shimizu, 1992, 79; and Ota S.,
265-70, 280.
79. See, e.g., Muraoka, 70; and Ota H., 17.
80. For contact between Kyoto aristocrats and Chinese merchants, see
Hyakurensho (as in n. 37), 23 (Eisho 1/1046.10.3, Eisho
3/1048.8.11), 24 (Eisho 5/1050.9.17); Nihon kiryaku, in Kuroita K.,
ed., Shintei zoho kokushi taikei, XI, 1929, 234 (Chowa 4/1015.2.12);
and Shoyuki, 8:131-32 (Chogen 2/1029.3.2). Yorimichi also
corresponded with Japanese monks studying in China; see Nihon
kiryaku, 283 (Chogen 5/1032.12.23).
81. Shimizu, 1992, 79.
82. I am grateful to Professor Walter Cahn for the suggestion that
mnemonics may provide a clue to the Phoenix Hall and its reception.
83. Shimizu, 1988, 18; Nakano G., "Jodokyo shinko to Fujiwara
bunka," in Hamashima, ed. (as in n. 57), 132; Minamoto T., Nihon
bijutsushi ronkyu, Tokyo, 1982, 43, 46; Ishida I., "Chusonji konryu
no katei ni arawareta Oshu Fujiwarashi no shinko to seiji," in
Hiraizumi Choshi Hensan Iin Kai, ed., Hiraizumi choshi,
Sosetsu-Ronsetsu hen, III, Tokyo, 1988, 448-49; J. Stanley Baker,
Japanese Art, London, 1988, 68; Morse, 101; and Yiengpruksawan,
1991, 342.
84. G. Duby, "Foreword to a History of Private Life," in P. Veyne,
ed., A History of Private Life: I. From Pagan Rome to Byzantium,
Cambridge, Mass./London, 1987, viii.
85. Sutra recitations and other rites were held at the Kamo Shrine
and in the imperial compound in Kyoto in the first, fourth, and
seventh months (Fuso ryakki, 292, Eisho 7/1052.1.26, 4.7, 7.17).
86. Fuso ryakki, 292 (Eisho 7/1052.1.26, 8.25).
87. J. Nattier, Once upon a Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist
Prophecy of Decline, Berkeley, 1991, 3, 5, 65-66; for Buddhist
eschata and the "disappearance of the Dharma," see esp. 28-64,
90-118.
88. Fuso ryakki, 292 (Eisho 7/1052.1.26). It is unclear why 1052,
and not some other of the many calamitous years in the 11th and 12th
centuries, was identified in this manner.
89. I am grateful to Professors Neil McMullin and Timon Screech for
their comments on the role of fear in the cultural productions of
the Kyoto elite in the 11th and 12th centuries; see also
Yiengpruksawan, 1994, 448-50.
90. The historian Sakai Misao mentions her briefly in relation to
Yorimichi; see Sakai (as in n. 29), 111-12.
91. In his diary Tadazane describes Kanshi as living at the Byodoin
complex; see Denryaku, 3:108 (Ten'ei 1/1110.10.2), 181 (Ten'ei
2/1111.10.27), 4:121 (Eikyu 2/1114.9.19), 5:63 (Eikyu 5/1117.12.21).
For Reishi and Shishi at Uji, see ibid., 1:64 (Kowa 3/1101.8.13),
102 (Kowa 4/1102.1.24), 199 (Kowa 5/1103.2.20), 2:12 (Choji
1/1104.9.18), 3:220 (Ten'ei 3/1112.4.5), 4:258 (Eikyu 4/1116.9.17).
In addition to the Lotus Sutra lectures and devotions of 1118,
Kanshi sponsored a poetry contest in the vicinity of the hall,
various memorials, and the annual celebrations of the Buddhist canon
to be discussed presently (Go Nijo Moromichi ki, 1:280, Kanji
3/1089.8.23; Denryaku, 3:234, Ten'ei 3/1112.5.26, 4:242, Eikyu
4/1116.5.15, 5:83, Gen'ei 1/1118.intercalary9.22; and Chuyuki,
5:79-81, Gen'ei 1/1118.intercalary9.22).
92. Personal communication, 1994.
93. Fuss ryakki, 307 (Enkyu 1/1069.5.28).
94. Kanchuki, in Zoho Shiryo Taisei Kanko Kai, ed., Zoho shiryo
taisei, XXXIV, Kyoto, 1965, 155a (Koan 5/1070.3.1). See also
Denryaku, 1:78 (Kowa 3/1101.10.22), for the third day of the third
month as the formal date for the Tripitaka Devotions.
95. For Kanshi's prominent role at the Devotions, see Denryaku,
1:299-300 (Choji 1/1104.3.3); and Chuyuki, 2:339b-340a (Choji
1/1104.3.3), 5:38a-b (Gen'ei 1/1118.3.3). Her death date, and age at
death, are based on Chuyuki, 5:320a (Daiji 2/1127.8.14).
96. For descriptions of the Devotions, see Denryaku, 1:299-300
(Choji 1/1104.3.3), 2:78 (Ten'ei 1/1110.5.26); and Chuyuki, 5:38-39
(Gen'ei 1/1118.3.3).
97. For examples of memorial services for Yorimichi and his son
Morozane (1042-1101), see Denryaku, 1:48 (Kowa 3/1101.4.13), 1:102
(Kowa 4/1101.1.26), 3:7 (Tennin 2/1109.2.2); and Chuyuki, 2:151b
(Kowa 4.1.26).
98. Heihanki, 1:18a (Hoen 7/1141.2.28). It should be noted that
Taikenmon'in was on poor terms with Tadazane.
99. For example, in 1111 Shirakawa ordered Tadazane to remain at
court despite his expressed desire to attend memorial services at
Byodoin (Denryaku, 3:32, Ten'ei 2/1111.2.13).
100. Fuso ryakki, 304 (Jiryaku 3/1067.10.5); Taiki, 1:63b (Koji
1/1142.2.5); and Denryaku, 3:38 (Tennin 2/1109.6.24), 4:121 (Eikyu
2/1114.9.19).
101. Fuso ryakki, 327 (Otoku 4/1087.5.19), 328 (Kanji 2/1088.10.12);
Go Nijo Moromichi ki, 2:175 (Kanji 5/1091.10.12); and Chuyuki,
6:332a (Chosho 1/1132.9.24).
102. Chuyuki, 2:339b (Choji 1/1104.3.3). For example, Shirakawa,
Toba, and Taikenmon'in on their many outings to the Kumano Shrine
apparently never stopped at Uji or Byodoin, although they passed
within sight of it; see Chuyuki, 5:288a (Daiji 2/1127.2.18). It is
not true, as is often claimed by scholars influenced by Ivan Morris,
The World of the Shining Prince (1964; Harmondsworth, 1986) that
members of the royal family and aristocrats traveled little in the
11th and 12th centuries; diaries and other accounts confirm the
opposite to have been the case, with excursions to famous places and
local temples commonplace.
103. Denryaku, 1:299 (Choji 1/1104.3.1), 2:12 (Choji 1.9.18), 13
(Choji 1.9.24), 4:234 (Eikyu 4/1116.3.17), 254 (Eikyu 4/1116.8.15).
The wars between Kofukuji and other temples contributed much to
belief in the Final Dharma.
104. For the consecration ceremony, see Chuyuki, 7:179-80 (Hoen
2/1136.3.23); for the consecration address, see Honcho shoku monzui
("Toba Shokomyoin kuyo"), in Kuroita K., ed., Shintei zoho kokushi
taikei, XXIX, Tokyo, 1941, 212-13. In later years the ceremony was
described as having been one of the most elaborate ever (Taiki,
1:224a, Kyuan 3/1147.8.2).
105. For discussion of Shokomyoin, see Sugiyama N., In no gosho to
mido, Nara, 1962, 109; Shimizu, 1992, 311-14; Ota S., 456; Murayama,
154-58; and Matsuura, 35-38. Shokomyoin was destroyed by fire in
1242 and the site later lost to flooding (Hyakurensho [as in n. 37],
194, Ninji 3/1242.7.1).
106. The ashes were installed in a pagoda at the Toba Palace in
keeping with the wishes of Shirakawa on his deathbed (Choshuki,
1:300b, Daiji 4/1129.7.16, 2:104a, Tensho 1/1131.4.12, 121-22,
Tensho 1.7.9). Toba himself would later be interred at the complex,
as he had planned as early as 1145 (Taiki, 1:167a, Ten'yo
2/1145.12.17; and Hyakurensho [as in n. 37], 71, Hogen 1/1156.7.2).
107. For the Toba Palace, see Ota S., 443-74; Sugiyama (as in n.
105), 98-116; and Murayama, 146-76. The Kamo River now flows south
of the palace site.
108. Choshuki, 2:190-91 (Chosho 3/1134.4.10). Subsequent
citations from Choshuki are given in the text when they pertain to
Shokomyoin.
109. Tadazane and Shishi often traveled between Uji and the Toba
Palace by boat along the Kamo and Uji rivers, as did Shirakawa on
his visit to Byodoin in 1091 (Denryaku, 4:259, Eikyu 4/1116.9.23;
and Chuyuki, 1:55b, Kanji 5/1091.10.12).
110. For a discussion of the alterations, see Morse, 109.
111. Honcho shoku monzui (as in n. 104), 211.
112. Shimizu, 1992, 311-14.
113. Shimizu, 1988, 22.
114. Morse, 108-13.
115. Tadazane was Toba's senior by twenty-five years. Among his many
acts of kindness toward Toba as a child were frequent gifts of toys,
as in 1107, when he presented the young prince with a wooden horse
and sword (Denryaku, 2:223, Kajo 2/1107.9.16, 228, Kajo 2.10.7).
116. Entries in Tadazane's diary indicate that by 1118 he was
already on poor terms with Shirakawa (Denryaku, 5:77, Gen'ei
1/1118.9.5; 79, Gen'ei 1.9.28; 81, Gen'ei 1.9.9). Tsunoda Bun'ei
(Taikenmon'in Fujiwara no Shoshi, Tokyo, 1987, 34-39) has argued
that Tadazane was disgusted by Shirakawa's relationship with the
young Fujiwara no Shoshi, or Taikenmon'in, and with the latter's
promiscuity, even as Shirakawa married her to his son, Toba.
Tadazane's refusal to allow the entry of his daughter, Taishi, into
Toba's palace probably had much to do with his dislike for both
Shirakawa and Taikenmon'in, who had at one time been betrothed to
his son, Tadamichi, but had spurned him; also, Tadazane's own wife,
Shishi, had once been a concubine of Shirakawa and had borne him a
child. For a thorough report on court politics in this period, see
Hurst, 147-62.
117. For Yorimichi as Ujidono, see Denryaku, 1:43 (Kowa
3/1101.1.29), 198 (Kowa 5/1103.2.13); for Tadazane, see Heihanki,
1:36a (Kyuan 5/1149.10.23), 3:46a (Hogen 3/1158.10.15).
118. Chuyuki, 6:331a-b (Chosho 1/1132.9.24).
119. Choshuki, 2:155a (Chosho 2/1133.6.2); and Chuyuki, 7:89b
(Chosho 3/1134.3.19).
120. For Taishi at Uji and Kayanoin Mansion, see Chuyuki, 6:228b
(Daiji 5/1130.9.25); and Denryaku, 1:63 (Kowa 4/1102.10.13), 300
(Choji 1/1104.3.3).
121. See, e.g., Denryaku, 1:300 (Choji 1/1104.3.3). Interestingly,
there seems to be no record of Tripitaka Devotions at Byodoin in
1136.
122. Chuyuki, 7:56b (Chosho 2/1133.7.21), 122a (Chosho
3/1134.i12.30), 154b (Hoen 1/1135.6.21), 163b (Hoen 1.8.24), 177a
(Hoen 2/1136.1.28), 178a (Hoen 2.3.1); and Choshuki, 2:270a (Hoen
1.4.22), 275b (Hoen 1.5.1).
123. In fact, Toba and Morotoki discussed the pagoda in their plans
for Shokomyoin (Choshuki, 2:208a, Chosho 3/1134.6.19).
124. Kujo Kanezane, a grandson of Tadazane, described Hidehira as
"that savage from the northern provinces" (Kokusho Kankokai, ed.,
Gyokuyo, 3 vols., Tokyo, 1906-7, II, 102, Kao 2/1170.5.27).
125. For the Hiraizumi Fujiwara and their cultural projects, see
Fujishima G., ed., Chusonji, Tokyo, 1971; and Sudo H. and Iwasa M.,
Chusonji to Motsuji, Tokyo, 1989. The Hiraizumi Fujiwara belonged to
the Hidesato lineage of the Fujiwara family; see Sonpi bunmyaku, in
Kuroita K., ed., Shintei zoho kokushi taikei, LIX, Tokyo, 1962,
386-87.
126. Araki, 234. In 1170 Hidehira was named military governor of the
north (Gyokuyo [as in n. 124], I, 102, Kao 2/1170.5.27; and
Heihanki, 5:163b, Kao 2.5.25)
127. For studies of Muryokoin, see Fujishima G., "Hiraizumi no bunka
to Chusonji," in Chusonji (as in n. 125), 196-97; Araki S.,
"Hiraizumi no kenchiku," in Mizuno K., Suzuki K., and Ito S., eds.,
Nihon bijutsu zenshu, VI, Tokyo, 1994, 201-2; Araki, 183-85; Kanno,
151-52, 182-83; and Ota S., 278-79.
128. Azuma kagami, 354 (Bunji 5/1189.9.17).
129. Ibid.; and Araki, 180, 183-84.
130. For discussion of the hunting scenes, see Kanno, 152-53,
156-62; and Yiengpruksawan, 1991, 343.
131. Araki, 184.
132. Azuma kagami, 353 (Bunji 5/1189.9.17); and Taiki, 2:101-2
(Ninpyo 3/1153.9.14).
133. Yiengpruksawan, 1991, 342-43.
134. Kanno, 173, 178-84. Araki (185-86) argues that the island was
used for music and dance.
135. Kanno, 176-84, 189-92.
136. Tsunoda B., Ocho no kiseki, Tokyo, 1983, 162-65, 171-72; and
idem, "Fujiwara no Hidehira," Rekishi dokuhon, Bessatsu, XVII, no.
9, 1993, 48-50. The date of the marriage is estimated on the basis
of the age at death, thirty-five years, of their son Yasuhira in
1189 (Azuma kagami, 347, Bunji 5/1189.9.3).
137. The sites were those of the Hachiman Gohojoe, or Festival of
Releasing Birds and Animals at the Hachiman Shrine; Kamo no Matsuri,
or Festival of the Kamo Shrine; Kurama; Daigo Sakurae, or
Cherry-Blossom Viewing at Daigo; Uji Byodoin; Saga; and
Kiyomizudera. See Chusonji shuto sojoan, in Hiraizumi Choshi Hensan
Iin Kai, ed., Hiraizumi choshi, Shiryohen, I, Tokyo, 1985, 95a.
138. Azuma kagami, 354 (Bunji 5/1189.9.17).
139. Chuyuki, 7:180b (Hoen 2/1136.3.23).
140. Kanamaru Y., "Shinden-zukuri to suihen," in Oishi N., ed.,
Nihonshi no naka no Yanagi no Gosho seki, Tokyo, 1993, 22.
141. M. Proust, Remembrance of Things Past, trans. C. K. Scott
Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, 3 vols., New York, 1982, I, 43.
142. I am grateful to Jennifer G. Purtle for the idea of the theme
park.
143. M. Taussig, Mimesis and Alterity, New York/London, 1993, 2.
144. See, e.g., Chuyuki, 3:31-33 (Choji 2/1105.3.30).
145. R. Girard, Violence and the Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory,
Baltimore, 1989, 143.
146. Yiengpruksawan, 1994, 449-53.
147. Even as Kiyohira and Motohira administered Fujiwara lands
near Hiraizumi, they were engaged in constant disputes with Tadazane
and his son, Yorinaga, over revenues and control of the territories;
see Taiki, 2:101-2 (Ninpyo 3/1153.9.14, 3.9.17), and Ukaikisho, in
Zoho Shiryo Taisei Kankokai, ed., Zoho shiryo taisei, XXV, Kyoto,
1965, 215-16 (Ninpyo 3.9.14).
148. G. Schopen, "Sukhavati as a Generalized Religious Goal in
Sanskrit Mahayana Sutra Literature," Indo-Iranian Journal, XIX, nos.
3-4, 1977, 177, 181, 197, 201.
149. Tale, II, 553, 556, 569 (Eiga monogatari, 2:68, 84, 88).
150. T. Adorno, Negative Dialectics, trans. E. B. Ashton, New York,
1992, 141.
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Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan's articles on Japanese art have appeared in
Monumenta Nipponica, Archives of Asian Art, Japanese Journal of
Religious Studies, and elsewhere. She has recently completed a book
on the Buddhist political and visual culture of Hiraizumi in
northern Japan [Department of the History of Art, Yale University,
New Haven, Conn., 06520!.