Decorations - Shogong

Japanese: 荘厳具 - しょうごんぐ

In Buddhist terms, "adornment" refers to the decoration of temples, land, and the bodies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with various kinds of jewels and flowers, or with canopies, banners, and ornaments, and "gu" refers to the tools, utensils, and Buddhist implements used for this purpose. Since ancient times, the construction of temples and Buddhist halls, the enshrinement of Buddhist statues, and the decoration of the inside and outside of the statues and halls and pagodas have been intended to manifest the Buddha's great virtues, to express respect and to inspire feelings of reverence in worshippers. Now, ornaments can be broadly divided into two types: (1) ornaments for Buddhist statues and (2) ornaments for Buddhist halls.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

仏教用語で，荘厳とは諸種の宝や華，もしくは宝蓋，幢幡（どうばん），瓔珞（ようらく）などをもって道場(寺院)や国土，仏･菩薩身を装飾する，つまり立派に飾ることであり，具はそのために用いる道具，器具，仏具をいう。古来，寺院や仏殿を建て，仏像を安置し，その仏像や堂塔の内外を装飾するのは仏の偉徳の顕現であり，恭敬尊重の心をあらわし，かつ礼拝者をして敬虔の思いが生じるよう図ったものである。いま荘厳具を大別すると，(1)仏像の荘厳具，(2)仏堂の荘厳具の2種がある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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