Diamond Realm Mandala

JAPAN; Kamakura period

According to an inscription on the back of this image, it is a copy of a mandala brought back to Japan from China by the monk Ennin. Painted between the 12th and 13th centuries for use in Tendai school rituals, it is one of the oldest copies of the mandala of the 81 Buddhas of the Diamond Realm. The mandala was listed as an Important Cultural Property in 1949.
The mandala contains 81 figures including the Five Dhyani Buddhas, the Four Paramita Bodhisattvas, sixteen attendant Bodhisattvas, eight Bodhisattvas in offering, the Guardians of the Four Directions, four guardian Bodhisattvas, and twenty deities. All of the figures sit in lotus position on lotus thrones. Some of the thrones are set upon the backs of birds. With exception of Vairocana Buddha, who appears in the form of a Bodhisattva, the other four of the Five Dhyani Buddhas wear headdresses. Beautiful floral and cloud patterns are painted in the background of this carefully organized, detailed mandala.