974 cynthea j. bogel
of five. Bonten stands to the rear, as part of Taishakuten’s entourage,
next to Fudō Myōō.^46
Representing the Altar: Iconography, Drawings, and Taxonomies
The iconography of the altar is complex and cannot be adequately
discussed in a brief essay. The honzon or primary divinity for the
Benevolent Kings ritual (Ninnōkyō-hō) varies depending on lineage
and ritualist, and is not specified in the texts and drawings. Examples
of the painted mandala type described in the Benevolent Kings Sūtra
ritual manual survive at Daigoji and Kumedera. The Kumedera paint-
ing shows Fudō Myōō at the center surrounded by ritual implements.
Since the ritual text, the Ninnō nenju giki, depends significantly on
the Diamond Peak Sūtra and in turn to the Diamond world Mandala,
the Diamond World iconography can be seen as a unifying factor.
Among the three central groups of five statues, the Five Wisdom Bud-
dhas correspond to Diamond World mandala imagery, as do four of
the Five Great Bodhisattvas. The central figure, Kongōsatta
(Vajrasattva), is typically said to correspond to the Ninnō nenju giki,
along with the Five Vidyārājas (Godai Myōō). The central bodhisat-
tva Kongosatta, and the five Myōō, however, have correspondences in
the Diamond World iconography. Although Takata and others have
stressed a blending of the two ideologies or iconographies, few have
noted the closer relationship of the Benevolent Kings ritual texts and
the Vajraśekhara sūtra, and the corresponding Diamond World ico-
nography; thus the alleged lack of iconographic unity on the altar may
be a problem of relying on specific texts without understanding their
scriptural sources.
The oldest dated extant plan of the altar is a diagram dating to
922, created by the monk Shinjaku (886–927) , and found in the
Fukanreitōki (figure 19 shows the original at left and a transcription at
right), titled Tōji Kōdō gobutsu tō zu (“Tōji Lecture Hall Five Buddhas
and Other Icons Drawing,” hereafter, Fukanreitōki drawing).^47
(^46) Later works copy this arrangement, such as a drawing in the Cleveland Museum
probably from Daigoji. It depicts the Five Great Myōō and the Four Heavenly Kings
with Taishakuten, but the eight bodhisattvas (fierce and benevolent) have been
reduced to one, Hannya Bosatsu. See Cunningham and Cleveland Museum of Art
1998, 82, plate 51. 47
Fukanreitōki , NCKSS-jys 1: 81 (shiryō 49). The Fukanreitōki was exe-
cuted by the monk Shinjaku (886–927). For a color reproduction, see Tōji Hōbutsukan