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

The Tendai priest Enchin (Chishō Daishi; 814–891) traveled to China during the Tang dynasty (618–907). When he came back, he returned with over a thousand scrolls of Buddhist teachings. A list of these items includes the entry “Deities of the Womb World, one scroll,” which is believed to refer to the original copy of these drawings. Intriguingly, historical records indicate Enchin drew a copy of Womb World iconographies himself after receiving the abhiṣeka rite granting initiation to the teachings of the Womb World at Qinglongsi Temple in the Tang capital Chang'an in the year Dazhong 9 (855). The beginning of the first scroll has the title “Main Iconographies of the Womb World Mandala Drawn while Translating the Mahāvairocana Sutra, Vol. 1” and indicates the work comprises two volumes. The end of the second scroll says “divided into two scrolls by Enchin.”

The title refers to when the Indian monk Śubhakarasiṃha (637–735) created iconographic line drawings of the main deities of the Womb World while translating the Mahāvairocana Sutra into Chinese. The first scroll contains depictions of deities belonging to the mandala’s Hall of the Central Dais with Eight Petals (J. Chūdai-Hachiyō-in), Hall of the Mantra Holders (J. Jimyō-in), Hall of the Lotus Division (J. Rengebu-in), Hall of Vajrapāṇi (J. Kongōshu-in), Hall of Mañjuśrī (J. Monju-in), Hall of Removing Obstacles (J. Jogaishō-in), Hall of Kṣitigarbha (J. Jizō-in), and Hall of Ākāśagarbha (J. Kokūzō-in). The second scroll has drawings of the deities of the Hall of Śākyamuni (J. Shaka-in) and the Outer Vajra Hall (J. Gekongōbu-in) . A depiction of Śubhakarasiṃha holding a flower and handled incense burner is included near the end of the second scroll. The iconographies of each deity retain influences from India and regions in western China, and the scrolls offer further insights for iconographic research, as its depictions have distinct differences from current Womb World Mandala iconographies, such as a painting of Birushana (Skt. Mahāvairocana) at the beginning of the scroll in the style of a buddha rather than a bodhisattva.

The colophon documents when and where the original iconographies were copied. It says the priest Toba Sōjō (Kakuyū, 1053–1140) first had the priest-painter Ōgen (dates unknown) copy the version Enchin brought back from China that was stored in the sutra repository in Tōin Hall of Miidera Temple. This version by Ōgen is now known as the “first copy” (the Hōrin-in Temple version). The Tendai priest Shin’en (dates unknown) then copied the first copy in Jishō 5 (1181), and his is now called the “second copy” (the Daihō-in Temple copy). In Kenkyū 5 (1194), the priests Zenkaku (dates unknown), Zenjitsu (dates unknown) and a figure referred to as a minister and monastic teacher (J. daifu ajari) transcribed the second copy, making this set the “third copy” of the original iconographies Enchin brought from China.