Blue Fudo

Artist/Culture Japanese

Date1868–1912

Mediumink and opaque color on silk, hanging scroll

Dimensions191 x 75.6 cm (75 3/16 x 29 3/4 in.)
Overall1: 104.7 x 54.6 cm (41 1/4 x 21 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift from the estate of John Chandler Bancroft

Terms

Object number1901.1336

Label TextThe deity called the "unshakable one" is one of the kings of knowledge and a manifestation of the Buddha Dainichi (Sanskrit: Mahavaironica, or the Great Radiance), Esoteric Buddhism's central Buddha and the source of all other deities as well as of wisdom and compassion. The myoo (kings of bright wisdom) were attendants of Dainichi. They belonged to a class of wrathful deities who expressed the concept of divinity as fierce energy akin to that of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu in their frightful aspects. Given multiple heads and ferocious expressions, these deities subdued the physical and spiritual obstacles to enlightenment and protected the faithful. Capturing the imaginations of monks and lay devotees alike, these deities, emblems of psycho-spiritual states, were the objects of faith and devotion. Fudo (Sanskrit: Acala, the unmovable one) symbolized steadfastness in the face of delusion and folly. His immensely powerful and fearful appearance and his attributes--lasso and sword--help him overcome the forces that impair the understanding of truth, thereby eliminating delusion. Fudo occupies the central position in this mandala (a diagram of both spiritual and physical realms), which illustrates the relationships of the Five Great Kings of Light. The mandala is emblematic of Esoteric Buddhism both as an intellectual scheme that systematically defines and organizes its complex pantheon, and as a visual device. The other deities, arranged at the four cardinal points of the compass to form a rectangle around Fudo, are Daitoku Myoo (Yamantaka) on the water buffalo (west, Kongo Yasha Myoo leaping above the lotuses (north), Gozanze Myoo standing on and overcoming the Hindu deity Shiva and his consort Parvati (east), and Gundari Myoo with snakes representing human folly and passion wrapped around his arms and legs.ProvenanceEstate of John Chandler Bancroft, Boston MA

On View

Not on view

Collections