National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Created for worship, this painting primarily depicts the grounds and surroundings of Hiyoshi Taisha (Sannō Shrine). The shrine is located at the eastern base of Mount Hiei and rose to prominence as the tutelary Shinto shrine for Enryakuji Temple. Including the main east and west shrines, 21 shrine buildings are depicted in meticulous detail. The work highlights their actual appearances while rendering them distinct from the surrounding stylized natural landscape. Under Shinto-Buddhist combinatory thought, enlightened buddhas were believed to temporarily manifest as indigenous Shinto kami. This belief is incorporated in the mandala above the shrine’s precincts. A separate section is set at the top depicting the Sanskrit seed syllables, Buddhist forms, and Shinto manifestations of each of the deities enshrined in the 21 shrines. Their names are written on small strips of paper, somewhat diminishing the sacred presence of the deities. The same is true for the shrine buildings, illustrating how shrine mandalas gradually lost their significance as paintings for worship in later periods. This mandala is a valuable example preserving its original appearance as a hanging scroll, in that it retains a “painted mounting” mimicking mounting fabric that continues seamlessly from the main mandala’s silk ground. According to an ink inscription on a piece of paper attached to the back, this mandala was held in the west pagoda precinct of Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei until it was taken elsewhere in Bun’an 4 (1447).