esotericism, sexualized bodies or scatological refer-
ences are the exception and metaphor the norm. Sym-
bols may take the form of a divinity’s attribute (e.g.,
Acala’s sword). Stone memorials, reliquaries, and
other objects may symbolically represent the five ma-
terial elements. Seed syllables are invariably comprised
of Siddham letters. Iconography (mudra, posture,
color, attributes) might be included here, for such pre-
scriptions constitute a particular kind of symbolic em-
bellishment and art.
Architecture constitutes another distinct category.
Halls or structures have specific ritual functions inher-
ent to their layout and decoration. Esoteric pagodas in
Japan developed several characteristic shapes, notably
the Tahotoform. An abhiseka hall was essential to es-
oteric practice. The earliest known example in East Asia
is the excavated hall of Qinglongsi in modern-day
Xi’an. New types of halls with esoteric functions de-
veloped at Japanese esoteric monasteries (e.g., the Five
Vidyaraja hall, the Five Wisdom Buddha hall) then
found a place in Pure Land and other schools’ monas-
tic plans.Another category pertains to Esoteric sectarian his-
tory, lineage, and transmission. Included here are
keepsakes of the esoteric masters and patriarch im-
ages. The Japanese Esoteric master Kukai was given
thirteen items by his Chinese teacher Huiguo during
his study in Tang Chang’an, of which eight originally
belonged to the great Esoteric masters Vajrabodhi
and Amoghavajra. Among them is a twenty-four-
centimeter-tall sandalwood portable shrine carved in
relief with divinities in the collection of Kongobuji,
Mount Koya, Japan. Its iconography is not esoteric,
nor does it figure in esoteric ceremonies. Nonethe-
less, the shrine is a significant example of esoteric ma-
terial culture because it constitutes a form of sectarian
patriarchal history.A tenth and final category is both large and amor-
phous. It includes paintings, statues, or ritual imple-
ments that derive from systematized esoteric traditions
found in a Buddhist or other religious context that as-
similated esoteric practices and imagery but is not of
completely esoteric origin. Examples might include the
vajra or representations of esoteric emanations of
Avalokites ́vara. Found only in Japan are shrine man-
dara paintings, topographies of indigenous kami
(Shinto) sites and associated gods that typically include
one or more esoteric Buddhist deities as avatars of the
indigenous gods. In China such assimilated imagery
would include, among hundreds of possible examples,
images of the Dipper (Ursa Major) Mother.The categories noted above are not absolute but
heuristic. In some cases they differ from modern schol-
arly views. Modern art-history studies favor works
deemed aesthetically superior, regardless of function.
For example, an icon with great reputed efficacy but
seen as aesthetically inferior may be of lesser interest.
Iconographic drawings may be lauded for their draft-
ing and artistic expression, but do not occupy the same
status in the esoteric tradition because they are not
icons but ritual supports. This is not to imply that vi-
sual impact and materials were insignificant. To the
contrary, artistic styles associated with a workshop or
individual Buddhist craftsman; sumptuous materials
such as gems, gold, pigments, or jade; superb con-
struction; and embellishment of objects or sacred
spaces were understood as means of devotion. At Fa-
mensi the priest who made the silver outer relic con-
tainer in 871 dedicated it as “a precious box for
S ́akyamuni Buddha’s true body.” The innermost con-ESOTERICART, EASTASIA
A small crystal reliquary. (Japanese, Kamakura period,
1185–1333.) © The Seattle Art Museum. Reproduced by per-
mission.