Studies on the formation process of the Taizo Mandala in India

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25580033
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Kyoto City University of Arts
• Principal Investigator: SADAKANE Keiji 京都市立芸術大学, 美術学部, 教授 (40135497)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 美術史 / 図像学 / インド仏教

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Taizo Mandala is supposed to have be brought into being along with the compilation of the “Mahavairocana Sutra” which established the principle of esoteric Buddhism for the first time in India. It may safely be said that the formation of the Taizo Mandala was the beginning of true development of mandala in Indian Buddhism. Depending on very valuable documents transmitted in Japan, however, we believe the Taizo Mandala has extremely unique characteristics including one that it consists of extraordinarily numerous images. In addition, the composition of the Taizo Mandala is based on not only an fundamental horizontal relation emphasizing the directions but also a vertical one. This peculiarity has been well preserved up to the present time in the Taizo Mandara of Japanese Shingon sect. On detailed inspection of the formation process of the Taizo Mandala, it was most likely created in the Buddhist cave temple at Ellora.

Free Research Field

インド美術史