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2,3月号2024.12.27発売

片岡仁左衛門×坂東玉三郎 奇跡の「国宝コンビ」のすべて

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Culture

2025.02.01

Receiving ‘Prayers and Wishes’ across a thousand years Sawada Toko  ‘Biso no Nippon: The history of dressing up’

Dressing up and adorning oneself with sparkling jewellery. There lies the human desire to be beautiful and to add colour to one’s life.

In our series ‘Bisso (美装) no Nippon: The History of dressing up’, writer Sawada Toko (澤田瞳子) traces the history of various ornaments and jewellery, and explores the mysteries behind the act of dressing up.

No word as beautiful as ‘Yoraku’

The following poem by Aizu Yaichi (会津八一; 1881–1956), a poet and professor at Waseda University, celebrates the Statue of Eleven-Faced Kannon(十一面観音立像)at Murouji (室生寺) Temple, a National Treasure located in Nara Prefecture:

This Statue of Eleven-Faced Kannon appears youthful, as if walking along the path with her beads on her necklaces and bracelets gently clinking as she moves.

(うらわかく ほとけいまして むなだまも ただまもゆらに みちゆかすごと)

Yaichi’s poems, written entirely in hiragana letters, are gentle on the eyes, conjuring scenes of Nara as though from a soft, distant dream.

The Statue of Eleven-Faced Kannon, carved from a single block of cypress in the early Heian period, retains beautiful traces of colour even after a millennium. Its slightly parted lips and youthful face, as Yaichi poetically describes as ‘gently graced,’ exude a freshness. Among its features, the yoraku (瓔珞) —a long beaded ornament cascading down from the statue’s chest to its feet—stands out like a pure waterfall flowing down the statue, giving the grand figure a tender, almost youthful charm.

Yaichi used the word yura ni (ゆらに; to sway), which appears in ancient texts like the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) and Manyoshu (万葉集), referring to the movement or sound of something swaying.

“The beads cascading from the chest and hands sway and make sound as if walking along a path.”

In this verse, he describes an impossible scene. It’s unlikely anyone would argue that this vision was inspired by the statue’s youthful face and the beautifully flowing yoraku.

The image shows the Statue of Eleven-Faced Kannon, a National Treasure held by the Nara National Museum. The statue, created in the Heian period, stands at 195 centimeters tall and is part of the Murouji Temple collection. (Image from Colbase [https://colbase.nich.go.jp/])

Though the word yoraku is rarely used today, it originally referred to the adornments worn by Indian nobility. With Buddhism’s spread eastward, it came to denote the head, arm, and chest ornaments on Buddhist statues, as well as other decorative elements.

While terms like ‘pendant,’ ‘necklace,’ and ‘choker’ are common today, none seem as beautiful as yoraku, at least in my mind. In his modern-style poem ‘Zento Kakusei Fu (全都覚醒賦),’ the poet Kitahara Hakushu (北原白秋) compares the stars in the sky to a silver garland, writing,

”The heavens are a starry night of golden sand, overflowing with the twelve constellations of the zodiac. The silver garland shines brilliantly around the jeweled throne, in the celestial palace. Its spiritual radiance is high and dignified, with unparalleled magnificence and boundless beauty”.

(天は金沙の星月夜 あふけば諸辰十二宿 銀の瓔珞かがやかに 宝座をめぐる天宮の 霊彩高く端厳と 華麗を尽くし真無量)

His verses evoke an image of a beautiful night sky, as if a shimmering strand of jewels were suspended above.

The Buddha statues we often see in temples today tend to have a dark, subdued appearance, often described as ‘austere.’ However, according to the scriptures, the Shakyamuni Buddha is said to possess features like the ‘konjikiso (金色相; golden body)’ and ‘jokoso (丈光光; radiant light)’, meaning his entire body is golden and emits light. This signifies the Buddha’s transcendent nature, far beyond ordinary existence. The garlands and ornaments are not mere decoration but essential adornments, meant to honor and celebrate such a revered and noble figure.

Next time you visit a temple, take a closer look at the adornments on the statues. You may find that these ‘austere’ statues are actually adorned with splendid jewelry, changing the way you view them.

Received across over a thousand years

Now, among the Buddhist statues in Japan, the one I consider to be the most splendid in its adornments is indeed located in Nara. It is the National Treasure, the Fuku Kensaku Kannon (不空羂索観音), housed in the Hokkedo (法華堂) of Todaiji (東大寺), renowned for its Great Buddha.

This statue stands approximately 3.6 meters tall and was created in the 8th century. It depicts Kannon, the goddess of mercy, with eight arms, symbolizing her vow to save all suffering beings without exception. Due to the statue’s immense size and the dim lighting within the hall, it is easy to overlook some details. However, in reality, this statue is adorned with a dazzling crown resting atop its head, showcasing its divine and majestic presence.

National Treasure: Fuku Kensaku Kannon (Hokkedo, Todaiji) (Noguchi Yonejiro (野口米次郎), Jodai no Chokoku (上代の彫刻; 1947), National Diet Library Digital Collection)

The crown is a massive piece, approximately 88 centimeters tall and weighing 11 kilograms, adorned with over 10,000 precious stones including jade, pearls, and amber. Normally, it is placed atop the statue, making it difficult to see up close. However, it is occasionally removed for research and investigation, and is displayed at the Todaiji Museum. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend viewing it in person, as it is truly a magnificent representation of craftsmanship and artistry.

At the center of the crown is a small statue of Amida Buddha made of silver, from which silver rays radiate outwards. However, the overall brilliance of the crown is so striking that there is little need to emphasize the radiant light; this effect comes from the numerous strands of colorful small beads that hang down from the crown’s basket-like structure, creating a dazzling display of colour and shimmer.

According to research conducted by Professor Nakai Izumi (中井泉) of Tokyo University of Science and others, among the numerous precious stones, there are glass beads made from the Yayoi (弥生) period to the Kofun (古墳) period, with some believed to be of foreign origin. Additionally, among the jade magatama and crystal cut beads used in the crown, there are worn pieces, suggesting that the crown incorporates these precious stones, which have been passed down over a long period of time by the time of its creation.

On the day of the current Emperor’s enthronement ceremony, Empress Masako (雅子) wore a special tiara that has been passed down through five generations of empresses since the time of Emperor Meiji. While it may not compare to the treasures of the imperial family, many of us in ordinary households also possess heirlooms such as ‘rings inherited from grandmothers’ or ‘necklaces passed down from mothers,’ showcasing the various adornments that have been cherished and handed down through the generations.

Emperor Shomu (聖武), who founded Todaiji, wished to make Japan a nation under the protection of Buddhism and hoped that people from all walks of life would unite in the construction of the Great Buddha. It is unclear how deeply Emperor Shomu was involved in the establishment of the Hokkedo and the Fuku Kensaku Kannon statue. However, judging by the lineage of the jewels used in the crown, it is undeniable that there are sentiments passed down through time from person to person, reflecting a profound connection to history and devotion.

The act of adorning oneself and embellishing objects is a timeless practice that transcends eras, and it is precisely because of this that human emotions can strongly emerge. The shining jewels in the magnificent crown do not speak to us directly. However, we undeniably continue to receive the prayers and wishes of those who came before us, conveyed through their brilliance, even after more than a thousand years.

National Treasure: Fuku Kensaku Kannon (Hokkedo, Todaiji) (Buddhist art materials: the second period of Oriental art research, 1st series, 1920-22, from the Digital Collections of the National Diet Library, edited by the Society for the Study of Oriental Art)

This article is translated from https://intojapanwaraku.com/culture/219086/

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Sawada Toko

Born 1977, Kyoto. Graduated from Doshisha University, Faculty of Literature, and completed the Master’s course at the same university. She made her debut in 2010 with ‘Koyo no Ten(孤鷹の天)’, which won the Nakayama Yoshihide Literature Award(中山義秀文学賞); won the Shinran Prize(親鸞賞) in 2016 for ‘Jakuchu(若冲)’ and the 165th Naoki Prize in 2021 for ‘Hoshi Ochite, Nao(星落ちて、なお)’.
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最新号紹介

2,3月号2024.12.27発売

片岡仁左衛門×坂東玉三郎 奇跡の「国宝コンビ」のすべて

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