. landmarks of esoteric art in japan 909
ascribed, or the Prabhūtaratnarāja Bodhisattva (Shuhō ō bosatsu
[also Tahō Nyorai ]) at Tōshōdaiji. A thousand-arm
Avalokiteśvara, along with Bhaisajyaguru, flanks the Rocana sculpture ̣
in the Golden Hall of the Tōshōdaiji, perhaps reflecting the original
altar arrangement at the Nara-period three official ordination plat-
forms at Tōdaiji, Yakushiji in Tochigi, and Kanzeonji in Fukuoka
(Asai Kazuharu 2004, 14, 63–64).
Other important Nara-period esoteric images not to be overlooked
are the clay sculpture of Shukongōjin in the Hokkedō at
Tōdaiji, and the recently discovered wooden armature of a “deity lord”
(shin ō ), one of a pair flanking the jōroku-size Cintāman ̣icakra-
Avalokiteśvara (Nyoirin Kannon , see Aptilon, “Goddess
Genealogy: Nyoirin Kannon in the Ono Shingon Tradition,” in this
volume) built for the Ishiyamadera in 761. It has been suggested that
the latter is an early image of the esoteric deity Kongō Zaō
(Asai Kazuharu 2004, 65, 72; Mack 2006a, 66 n. 147).
Heian Period (794–1185)
Kūkai (774–835) is purported to have been motivated to go to
China in 804 because no one in Japan could yet interpret the San-
skrit passages in the Mahāvairocana sūtra (Dainichi kyō, ; KZ
3: 476, T. 848, see Beghi, “The Dissemination of Esoteric Scriptures
in Eighth-century Japan,” and Tinsley, “Kūkai and the Development
of Shingon Buddhism” in this volume). After his return from China
in 806, Kūkai introduced a wealth of new material, including the
Two-Realm Mandala (ryōbu mandara, ), which pairs the
Diamond Mandala (Kongōkai mandara, ) and Womb
Mandala (Taizōkai mandara, ), based on the Diamond
Peak Sūtra (Kongōchō kyō, ; T. 865) and the Mahāvairocana
sūtra, respectively. However, he also introduced the new version of the
Benevolent Kings Sūtra by Amoghavajra (705–774) and related eso-
teric imagery, which may well have had a broader and farther-reaching
impact on esoteric imagery and ritual in Japan.
The earliest imagery associated with Kūkai in relation to the new ver-
sion of the Benevolent Kings Sūtra is a set of iconographic drawings
copied by Kakuzen (1143–ca. 1219) (figure 2).