. human hair in japanese esotericizing embroideries 891
Sentient beings who are mindful of the Buddha [practice nenbutsu]
Will be always embraced, never rejected (sesshu-fusha).A Lotus Sūtra mandala in which all the syllables are worked in human
hair comes from Izuyama Jinja in Atami and probably dates to the
fourteenth century (figure 3).
The central section shows the historical Buddha Śākyamuni and
the past buddha Prabhūtaratna enshrined in the multijeweled pagoda
(tahōtō ) associated with the esoteric tradition in Japan. The
syllable to the left suggests the identity between Prabhūtaratna and
Dainichi; the syllable to the right represents Śākyamuni. Syllables rep-
resenting deities from the Diamond World appear in the next rectan-
gular court, and syllables representing deities from the Womb World
appear in the outer rectangular court. The central pagoda appears on
an eight-petaled lotus flower like the one in the center of the Womb
World Mandala. This image shows an intermingling of exoteric and
esoteric concepts, as well as a mingling of the esoteric two worlds.
Images from the Pure Land and esoteric traditions presenting sacred
syllables suggest that communication with the absolute is possible
through language and sound. This is true for representations of the
nenbutsu, representations of the A syllable, or representations of large,
complex mandalas in which all the figures are shown as sacred syl-
lables. There is common ground between the Pure Land and esoteric
traditions in the belief that by using language—mantra—as a spiri-
tual device, religious goals can be achieved. Recitation of the nenbutsu
assures birth in Amida’s Pure Land; in the esoteric tradition proper
practice of the three mysteries, including speech or mantra, leads to
enlightenment in this very body. Language becomes the direct means
of communication between the human and the sacred. In his writ-
ings, Kakuban states that the only difference between unenlightened
sentient beings and buddhas is their understanding of the nature of
language.
When devotees donated hair to be worked into these powerful
images, another layer of meaning is added. Since hair often suggests
wild, untamed, sexual energy, its use in embroideries can be seen as an
attempt to control or transform that “negative” power, to turn nega-
tive into positive, to make the imperfect into the perfect. Hair, signify-
ing the human body, undergoes a purifying metamorphosis when used
in these embroideries to depict the hair and garments, or the names, of
sacred figures. The distinction between buddha and believer collapses
and they become one.