Fudo-sama — immovable wisdom

By Buddhism Now on 15 October 2016 • ( 0 )

Fudō Myōō (Achala-vidyārāja)
Artwork © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fudō Myōō is the most widely represented of the Buddhist deities known as Myōō, or Kings of Brightness. A fierce protector of the Buddhist Law, he is a direct emanation of the Buddha Dainichi Nyorai, the principal Buddha of Esoteric Buddhism. The first sculptures of Fudō made in Japan were seated, but standing sculptures like this one were carved beginning in the eleventh century. Fudō uses his sword to cut through ignorance and his lasso to reign in those who would block the path to enlightenment. The heavy weight of the shoulders and back is planted firmly on the stiffened legs, appropriate for a deity whose name means the “Immovable.”

This statue, originally composed of six hollowed-out pieces of wood, was formerly the central icon of the Kuhonji Gomadō in Funasaka, twenty miles northwest of Kyoto.

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Fudō Myōō (Sanskrit: Acala-vidyaraja), the chief of the Five Wisdom Kings (Godai myōō), is the wrathful avatar of Dainichi Buddha and the tenacious protector of Buddhist law. His iconography, drawn from the Dainichi Sutra, describes his body as black or blue, with bulging eyes, protruding fangs that bite his lower lip, and hair that hangs down his left shoulder. He carries in his left hand a lasso to catch and bind demons (obstacles to awakening) and in his right hand a sword to decapitate them (cut through ignorance).

The present example, from the workshop of Kaikei, one of the leading sculptors of his day, adheres to this iconography. Traces of colored pigments and strips of cut gold (kirikane) are visible in the deity’s robes, and his eyes are inlaid with crystal, intensifying his ferocious expression.

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When Yūten woke up, he became an excellent monk. In the center print the statue of Fudō aims his sword at a young Yūten, while Fudō’s two attendants witness his magical power from the two sides. At the end of the Edo period Yoshitoshi, a disciple of Kuniyoshi, departed from Kuniyoshi’s dense, dynamic presentation of motifs, and moved instead to airy, theatrical compositions during the Meiji period. This print demonstrates the excellence of the artist’s later style.

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Click on any image below to open the gallery of Fudō Myōō photographs.

Fudō Myōō in Portable Shrine, 18th centuryJapan, Edo period (1615–1868)Painted wood; H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm) H. of portable shrine: 4 in. (10.1 cm)The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of T. Hitachiyama, 1908 (08.74)http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/49114

Fudō Myōō is the most widely represented of the Buddhist deities known as Myōō, or Kings of Brightness. A fierce protector of the Buddhist Law, he is a direct emanation of the Buddha Dainichi Nyorai, the principal Buddha of Esoteric Buddhism. The first sculptures of Fudō made in Japan were seated, but standing sculptures like this one were carved beginning in the eleventh century. Fudō uses his sword to cut through ignorance and his lasso to reign in those who would block the path to enlightenment. The heavy weight of the shoulders and back is planted firmly on the stiffened legs, appropriate for a deity whose name means the “Immovable.” This statue, originally composed of six hollowed-out pieces of wood, was formerly the central icon of the Kuhonji Gomadō in Funasaka, twenty miles northwest of Kyoto.

Fudō Myōō (Acalanātha) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fudō Myōō (Acalanātha) Expressive carving and exquisite decoration in cut gold (kirikane) make this small image an eloquent witness to the fervent belief in the benign power of this deity. One of the Five Great Light Kings, Fudō (Sanskrit: Acalanatha), the Immovable One, came to be widely venerated as a staunch protector, particularly among samurai warriors.

Fudō Myōō, Japan early 13th century. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Myōtaku, one of the first Zen monks to paint this deity, is said to have painted a picture of Fudō daily for over twenty years. The model for this printed triptych was most likely Myōtaku’s painting in the collection of the Henjōkō-in temple at Mount Kōya. Fudō Myōō (Acalanātha) After Ryūshū Shūtaku (Japanese, 1307–1388) Japan. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kaikei (active ca. 1183–1223) Fudo Myoo, early 13th century Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333) Lacquered Japanese cypress (hinoki), color, gold, and kirikane, inlaid with crystal; H. 21 in. (53.3 cm); H. to top of sword 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm); W. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm); D. 15 in. (38.1 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.252) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/53176

This print illustrates a legend about the thirty-sixth Abbot Yūten (1637–1718) of Zōjōji, the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns. While Yūten was a young novice, he prayed for Fudō Myōō’s aid to become a wise Buddhist monk. He dreamed that the statue of Fudō Myōō jumped down from its pedestal and made him swallow one of Fudō’s two swords. When Yūten woke up, he became an excellent monk. In the center print the statue of Fudō aims his sword at a young Yūten, while Fudō’s two attendants witness his magical power from the two sides. At the end of the Edo period Yoshitoshi, a disciple of Kuniyoshi, departed from Kuniyoshi’s dense, dynamic presentation of motifs, and moved instead to airy, theatrical compositions during the Meiji period. This print demonstrates the excellence of the artist’s later style.

Seated statue of Fudo Myo-o, Daigo-ji, Japan

Fudō Myōō Japan © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fudō Myōō, supreme protector of Buddha’s law, was originally an important deity of Esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyō), and he retained his status in Zen Buddhism. The Zen community promoted projects to spread Buddhism, such as the printing of Buddhist texts and painting of Buddhist images. This printed triptych seems to have been based on a painting of Fudō and his attendants executed by the noted scholarly Zen monk Ryūshū Shūtaku (also known as Myōtaku). Myōtaku, one of the first Zen monks to paint this deity, is said to have painted a picture of Fudō daily for over twenty years. The model for this printed triptych was most likely Myōtaku’s painting in the collection of the Henjōkō-in temple at Mount Kōya. Japan. After Ryūshū Shūtaku (Japanese, 1307–1388)

The helmet is shaped like a hat (zukinnari) worn by old men. The ornament at the front is that of the Buddhist guardian figure Fudō Myō-ō. Japan,16th century © The Metropolitan Museum of Art