962 cynthea j. bogel
Lecture Hall statues were completed, when Emperor Ninmyō (r. 833–
850) had the Benevolent Kings Sūtra read for seven days in “the fifteen
great Buddhist” temples, which included Tōji and Saiji , the only
two state-sponsored monasteries in the Heian capital.^39 The so-called
esoteric translation of the Benevolent Kings Sūtra is defined by its addi-
tion of ritual texts to the sūtra and emphasis of the protective role
played by twenty deities—many of them new, “esoteric” types. The
mikkyō rite based on the “new translation,” the Ninnōkyō-hō, shares
these goals, but the means are very different: the mikkyō ritual sum-
mons divine intervention in worldly affairs.
In the two sūtras, despite a common role as divine defense for the
benevolent king, their representation shifts from benign to ferocious,
indeed terrifying, under the influence of mikkyō and ritual imagery
(eg. see color pl 12). Although initially the shift in representation par-
allels the specific gods named in each sūtra, after the protective forces
in the newly introduced Amoghavajra translation are represented as
ferocious, the whole visual economy of the Benevolent Kings Sūtra
ritual world also shifts: the formerly benign “Five Power Bodhisat-
tvas” ( , color pl 12) come to be depicted as terribilita, like
their Japanese mikkyō cousins, the Five Great Myōō. With Kūkai at
the helm of Tōji, newly introduced esoteric rites could be conducted
in the capital itself with greater ease. The “exterior” and “interior” con-
cepts of the Benevolent Kings Sūtra and its rituals were applied to the
performance of rites inside the palace, inside the capital (Tōji), and
outside the capital.
The ritual text for the Benevolent Kings Sūtra gives the details for
the making of mandalas, adorning the altar, contemplations, mudrās,
and mantras. In the Shingon esoteric tradition, the rite follows the
prescriptions presented in ritual commentaries brought to Japan by
Kūkai, especially Amoghavajra’s Ninnō nenju giki, Ritual Commen-
tary on the Recitation and Contemplation of the Benevolent Kings,
and also the Shōmugekyō ( To Embrace without Hindrance
Sūtra), and Hizōki ( Notes on the Secret Treasury), said to be
notes by Kūkai on Huiguo’s teachings.^40 At the same time, aspects
(^39) Shoku Nihon kōki 2:141, entry for Jōwa 6 (839).4.17.
(^40) See an earlier note on commentaries on the Ninnō nenju giki, T. 994; Shōmugekyō,
also known as the Fudara Kūkaieki, T. 1067; and Hizōki, TZ 1 no. 1. The latter two
texts have been variously attributed to Amoghavajra, Huiguo, and Kūkai. In the case
of the Hizōki, Ryūichi Abé explains that within the Shingon tradition the work is