Buddhist art

Based on Buddhist thought and faith, it is a whole range of visual art that was created out of the need for Buddhist worship, rituals, and educational activities, and is on a par with Christian art in the West. Since Buddhism originated in India, Buddhist art also originated in India, and spread to Japan via China and Korea, each of which showed its own unique development. Of the diverse developments, the central "stupas," "Buddhist architecture," "Buddhist statues," and "Buddhist paintings" are described in detail in their respective entries.

The death of Shakyamuni, the founder of the sect, is thought to have occurred around 485 or 383 BC. He may have already engaged in artistic activities while alive, but no remains of him remain today. After his death, his remains (shari) were divided among many followers, who took them to various places and buried them with great care. The towers (stupas) that housed the shari were important monuments of early Buddhist art, and the towers themselves and the fences surrounding them were decorated with carvings based on the story of Shakyamuni's past life, the story of his life in this world, and the life of the Buddha. Primitive Buddhism did not accept idol worship, and therefore the image of Buddha was not sculptured, but was symbolically represented by a throne, a wheel of the law, the footprint of the Buddha, the bodhi tree, etc. It is said that Shakyamuni himself began to be represented artistically in the Gandhara region of northern India, around the end of the 1st century or the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Gandhara art, which could be described as Indo-Greek, flourished in this region during the reign of King Kanishka of the Kushan dynasty (mid-2nd century), and the construction of temples and the production of Buddhist statues flourished at an unprecedented rate. Meanwhile, purely Indian Mathura art was born in Mathura in the central part of the country, and thereafter the creation of statues of Buddha and other deities spread throughout India and even abroad.

Looking at the history of Buddhist art by sect, it can be divided into Mahayana art, esoteric art, and Pure Land art. Mahayana Buddhism was a reform movement that arose in the 1st century AD in opposition to traditional Buddhism, which became a mere formality after the death of Shakyamuni. It aimed to save humanity, personified Shakyamuni, created many Buddhas, and came to have various statues such as Buddha and Bodhisattva. In contrast to Mahayana, Hinayana Buddhism took the position of traditional Buddhism and aimed for enlightenment and self-salvation through ascetic practices. Therefore, most Buddhist statues were limited to Shakyamuni statues, centered on pagodas, and the decorations were mostly depictions of the Buddha's life and the life of the Buddha. These include early art from northern Buddhist countries, as well as southern Buddhist (Theravada) countries in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia. Mahayana Buddhism followed the northern route and flourished in China, Korea, and Japan, eventually giving birth to esoteric art. The term for esoteric art is exoteric art, which in Japan refers to Nara Buddhist art that existed before esoteric Buddhism. However, the terms Hinayana art and exoteric art are not usually used very often.

Esoteric art originated in the Nalanda region of India around the 4th century and incorporated the ideas of ancient Indian Brahmanism. It was introduced to Japan by Kukai in the early Heian period. Esoteric Buddhism is centered on prayers held indoors, and aims for immediate enlightenment and worldly benefits. This led to the creation of unusual, multi-faced, multi-armed figures such as the Thousand-Armed Kannon and Acala, as well as bodhisattva figures with angry, wrathful expressions that are unique to Esoteric Buddhism, adding variety and complexity to both content and expression. Mandalas were also created to represent the grand view of the universe as expounded in the Avatamsaka Sutra.

During the Heian period, the idea of ​​the end of the law, which would come after the death of Buddha, strongly captured the hearts of Buddhists, and Pure Land faith developed rapidly from 1052 (Eisho 7), the first year of the end of the law. Faith in Amida spread, and the Raigou Amida, which depicts Amida's Pure Land paradise, became very popular.

Furthermore, as a result of the syncretic ideology of esoteric Buddhism and Japanese gods, Honji Suijaku art was born. Examples include the worship of Shakyamuni, Amida, and Amoghavajra as honji buddhas at Hiyoshi, Kumano, and Kasuga shrines, and the creation of sacred statues of Shugendo, such as Zao Gongen, in connection with mountain worship.

At the beginning of the Kamakura period, Rinzai Zen by Eisai, Soto Zen by Dogen, and Obaku Zen by Ingen were introduced in the Edo period, but because Zen Buddhism preached "no relying on words, only seeing one's true nature and attaining Buddhahood," the making of Buddhist statues went into decline. However, because of the importance placed on the succession of masters, statues of patriarchs such as the sect's founder Bodhidharma, and portraits of direct masters, called chinso, were respected, and many realistic images and sculptures were created. In addition, ink-wash paintings of Zen paintings depicting aspects of Zen enlightenment were created, and this led to the formation of the world of ink-wash painting unique to Japan during the Muromachi period.

In this way, Japanese visual arts have made great strides with Buddhism as the driving force. For example, the basis of garden design is the Buddhist doctrine that nature is the land of Buddha, and this was combined with the spirit of nature worship to arrive at a uniquely Japanese form of artistic expression. The Japanese aesthetic sensibility, honed through Buddhist art, has been passed down deeply into the lives of the Japanese people, even from the early modern period, when Buddhism was in decline, to the present day.

[Shinichi Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教の思想や信仰に基づいて、仏教独自の崇拝や儀礼、ないし教化活動の必要からつくりだされたいっさいの造形美術で、西欧のキリスト教美術と双璧(そうへき)をなす。仏教の起源がインドであるところから、仏教美術もその発生はインドであり、中国、朝鮮を経て日本にも及び、それぞれ独自の展開を示した。その多彩な展開のうち、中心をなす「仏塔」「仏教建築」「仏像」「仏画」については、それぞれの項目に詳述してある。

　宗祖釈迦(しゃか)の死は紀元前485年ないし前383年ごろと考えられており、生存時すでに造形的行為があったかもしれないが、現在その遺品は残っていない。入滅後、その遺骨（舎利）は多くの信者によって分けられ、各地に持ち帰られて手厚く葬られた。その舎利を納める塔（ストゥーパ＝卒塔婆(そとうば)）が初期仏教美術の重要なモニュメントであり、塔自体やそれを巡る垣などには、釈迦の前生の物語である本生譚(ほんしょうたん)と仏伝を主題にした彫刻を施して荘厳(しょうごん)した。原始仏教では偶像崇拝を認めず、したがって仏陀(ぶっだ)の姿を造形化することなく、宝座、法輪、仏足跡、菩提樹(ぼだいじゅ)などで象徴的に表した。釈迦そのものを造形的に表現するようになるのは、紀元後1世紀末か2世紀の初めごろインド北部のガンダーラ地方といわれる。この地にはクシャン朝のカニシカ王（2世紀中ごろ）の時代を中心にインド・ギリシア式ともいうべきガンダーラ美術が栄え、寺院の建立、仏像の制作は空前絶後の盛況をみせた。一方、中部のマトゥラには純インド式のマトゥラ美術が生まれ、以後、釈迦の像をはじめ諸尊像の造像は全インドから国外にも及ぶに至ったのである。

　仏教美術の流れを宗派別にみると、大乗美術、密教美術、浄土教美術に区分することができる。大乗仏教は釈迦入滅後に形骸(けいがい)化した伝統仏教に対し、紀元1世紀におこった革新運動で、人間救済を目ざし、釈迦の存在を超人格化して多くの仏を生み、仏菩薩(ぼさつ)など諸尊像をもつようになる。大乗に対する小乗仏教は伝統仏教の立場にたって、苦行による悟りと自己救済を目的とした。したがって、仏像はほとんど釈迦像に限られ、仏塔中心で、荘厳も本生譚、仏伝図が多く、北方仏教諸国の前期美術、およびセイロン（スリランカ）や東南アジアの南方仏教（上座部系仏教）諸国のものがこれにあたる。大乗仏教は北方ルートをたどり、中国、朝鮮、日本で盛行し、やがて密教美術を生んだ。密教美術に対することばとして顕教美術があり、日本では密教以前の、奈良仏教美術をさす。しかし、普通、小乗美術、顕教美術の語はあまり用いられない。

　密教美術は4世紀ごろ、インドのナーランダ地方でおこり、インド古来のバラモン教の思想をも取り入れたもので、日本には平安初期に空海によって伝えられた。密教は室内での祈祷(きとう)を主とし、即身成仏、現世利益(げんぜりやく)を目的とするところから、千手観音(せんじゅかんのん)、不動明王など多面多臂(たひ)の異様な尊形や、怒髪忿怒(どはつふんぬ)相といった密教特有の菩薩像を生み、内容的にも表現上でも変化と複雑さを加えた。また『華厳(けごん)経』の説く壮大な宇宙観を表す曼荼羅(まんだら)図が描かれた。

　平安時代には、仏滅後訪れるという末法思想が強く仏教徒の心をとらえ、末法第一年とされた1052年（永承7）を境に浄土信仰は急速に発達。阿弥陀(あみだ)信仰が広まり、弥陀の極楽浄土を描く来迎(らいごう)阿弥陀が盛行した。

　また、密教と日本の神との神仏混淆(こんこう)思想の結果、本地垂迹(ほんじすいじゃく)美術が生まれた。日吉(ひえ)、熊野、春日(かすが)社の本地仏として釈迦、阿弥陀、不空羂索(ふくうけんじゃく)などが祀(まつ)られ、また山岳信仰と結び付いて蔵王権現(ざおうごんげん)のような修験(しゅげん)道の尊像がつくられたのはその例である。

　鎌倉時代の初めに栄西(えいさい)による臨済禅、道元による曹洞(そうとう)禅、さらに江戸時代には隠元による黄檗(おうばく)禅が伝えられたが、禅宗では「不立(ふりゅう)文字、見性(けんしょう)成仏」を唱えたので仏像の造像は衰退するに至った。しかし師資(しし)相承を重んずるため、宗祖菩提達磨(だるま)をはじめとする祖師像や、直接の師の肖像である頂相(ちんそう)が尊重され、多くの迫真の画像・彫像がつくられた。また、禅の悟りの様相を描いた水墨による禅機画が描かれ、これから室町時代の日本独自の水墨画の世界が形成されていった。

　このように、日本の造形美術は仏教を原動力として大きな発展を遂げた。たとえば庭園にしても、その造形の基本に自然即仏土といえる仏教教理があり、これが自然崇拝の精神と結び付いて、日本独自の造形表現に達したのである。仏教美術のなかで磨き抜かれた日本人の美的感覚は、仏教が衰退した近世から現代に至るまで、日本人の生活のなかに根強く受け継がれているのである。

［永井信一］

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