create large numbers of relatively lightweight images
in a variety of challenging poses. This “joined wood-
block” technique, augmented in the late twelfth cen-
tury by painted glass eyes and painted or gilded
surfaces, became the norm in later centuries. From the
eleventh century, carvers and their assistants organized
themselves into family-based workshops where such
techniques and styles were passed on from one gener-
ation to the next.
Hollowing out images created spaces where objects
were deposited and inscriptions written. These in-
scriptions often give the date and circumstances of
production, and include the names of donors and
carvers. Objects deposited include dedicatory vows,
sutras, smaller images, and personal possessions.
Where intact, these collections of objects provide re-
vealing information about the beliefs and practices of
image-making.
Painted images
In addition to three-dimensional images installed on
temple altars or kept in small shrine boxes, the walls
of some temple buildings were themselves painted with
ensembles of buddhas (Horyuji Golden Hall, early
eighth century), deities of esoteric mandalas and Shin-
gon patriarchs (Daigoji pagoda, 851), representations
of the nine stages of Amida’s descent (Phoenix Hall,
Byodoin, 1053), and other subjects. But most walls
were never painted or have lost their paintings due to
repeated restorations. Instead, buddhas and bod-
hisattvas were painted on silk, mounted in scroll for-
mat, and hung only for special occasions ranging from
state-sponsored rites to childbirth or death rituals. The
largest of these were the size of temple walls, and
represented AMITABHA’s pure land, the two-world
MANDALAof esoteric deities, and depictions of S ́akya-
muni’s parinirvana.
Painted images often incorporated a profusion of
deities and landscape or architectural settings and
local Japanese details. Representations of Amida’s de-
scent (raigo) for instance, often show Amida (Ami-
tabha) and his entourage descending in a seasonal
landscape to a dying believer recognizably in aristo-
cratic dress and surroundings. In some cases, dreams
or visions led to the creation of hitherto unseen
iconography, as in the case of standing deities, differ-
ent colorations or attributes, or unusual juxtaposi-
tions. Paintings depicting buddhas (honji) and their
kamimanifestations (suijaku), or shrine and temple
precincts, produced from the thirteenth and later cen-
turies, reveal the localization of Buddhist beliefs and
practices.Texts and tales
The arrival of Buddhism in Japan brought with it the
written word and an enormous body of sacred litera-
ture, including sutras, commentaries, practice manu-
als, and miraculous tales. Thousands of manuscripts
survive from the eighth century on, some beautifully
handwritten or printed, crafted of fine materials, or in-
corporating painting. Unlike living images installed on
altars and wreathed in incense, flowers, and candle
light during ceremonies, manuscripts brought indi-
vidual devotees closer to the dharma, whether they
themselves read or wrote the texts, or experienced
them through lecture or oral storytelling.
Sutra-copying was central to Buddhist practice in
Japan from the earliest period, as every temple needed
copies of basic texts. During the eighth century, most
were produced at the state-sponsored workshop at
Todaiji, but individual monks and lay patrons made
their own copies for private use or donation. Like
image-making and temple-building, sutra-copying
was an act of devotion and merit, requiring a reverentJAPAN, BUDDHISTART IN
This statue depicts the Shintodeity Hachiman as a Buddhist priest.
(Japanese sculpture by Kaikei, ca. 1201.) © Sakamoto Photo Re-
search Laboratory/Corbis. Reproduced by permission.