Slide 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Condensed Visual Guide to Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities (Jūsanbutsu 十三仏). Cover photo shows modern piece for the family

altar (butsudan 仏壇), used during Obon お盆 memorials (login = guest) for ancestors and deceased family members and at other special times when praying forliving relatives or oneself (see Slide 59.) █ ABOUT AUTHOR. Mark Schumacher is an independent researcher who moved to Kamakura (Japan) in 1993 and still lives
there today. His site, The A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Religious Statuary, has been online since 1995. It is widely referenced by universities, museums, art
historians, Buddhist practitioners, & lay people from around the world. The site's focus is medieval Japanese religious art, primarily Buddhist, but it also catalogs

art from Shintō, Shugendō, Taoist, & other traditions. The site is constantly updated. As of August 2018, it contained 400+ deities & 4,000+ annotated photos ofstatuary from Kamakura, Nara, Kyoto, & elsewhere in Japan. I am not associated with any educational institution, private corporation, governmental agency, or

religious group. I am a single individual, working at my own pace, limited by my own inadequacies. No one is looking over my shoulder, so I must accept full responsibility for any

inaccuracies. I welcome feedback, good or bad. If you discover errors, please contact me. I rely on Chinese, Japanese & English sources. I cannot read Korean, Tibetan, Sanskrit, or Central
Asian languages, so I must consult secondary sources of scholarship to underpin my findings. █ RESOURCES. To learn about the individual deities, see the A-to-Z Photo Dictionary ofJapanese Religious Art or Japanese Architecture & Art Net Users System or Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (login = guest). █ KEYWORDS. 十三仏・十三佛・十王・七七斎・七七日・中有・中陰・六齋日・六道 ・十斎日仏・三十日秘仏・本地垂迹 ・兵範記・中有記・ 預修十王生七経 ・地蔵十王経 ・佛説地藏菩薩發心因縁十王經・弘法大師逆修日記事 ・下学.

Slide 2. IN A NUTSHELL. Any study of Japan’s Thirteen Buddhist Deities begins with a dilemma – there is scant textual evidence about the thirteen until the
15th century, making their study largely speculative. This guide therefore focuses on the “visual record,” presenting the oldest known artwork of the groupduring its formative period in the 12th & 13th & 14th centuries. Any study of the thirteen also requires an upfront caveat, for the term 十三仏, or 十三佛, isoften mistakenly translated as “Thirteen Buddha” – the group includes five Buddha 仏, seven Bodhisattva 菩薩, and one Myō-ō 明王. Japan’s thirteen are apurely Japanese convention. They are not mentioned in the Buddhist Canon. Although the term 十三佛 (Thirteen Buddha) appears in 23 different texts in the
Buddhist Canon, its usages show no known correlation with Japan’s thirteen. The latter preside over thirteen postmortem memorial rites that start on the 7th
day after death & continue until the 33rd year after death (see Slide 3). The standard grouping appeared around the mid-14th C. after undergoing nearly two
centuries of transition from 10 to 11 to 12 to 13 members. The group was popularized in the 15th C. & linked to both postmortem rites for the dead &premortem rites for the living. Despite the speculative nature of this topic, the group’s raison d’être can be convincingly shown via extant art. Here is a casewhere art seems to predate texts. Above seeds adapted from Shingon.org. Images in right column by Schumacher.

1.

Based on karmic rebirth (reincarnation) & death management. Both sprang from early Indian Buddhism, wherein the dead wander in a liminal realm
for 7 weeks, or 49 days 七七日 (login = guest), undergoing judgement at the end of each 7-day period. On the 50th day, the dead are reborn in oneof 6 Realms of Karmic Rebirth. Living descendants hold memorial services at 7-day intervals during these 49 days in the hopes the deceased will not2.

be reborn in an evil realm. HENCE: 7 Weeks + 6 Realms = 13.
Folklore scholar Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 (1875-1962), in his work Ishigami Mondō 石神問答, tried to link the thirteen to Japan’s Jūsanzuka 十三塚(thirteen memorial mounds). Elsewhere, the number of thirteen-storied pagodas peaked in the Kamakura era, in tandem (it seems) with the3.

development of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities.
Based on the Ten Directions 十方 (four cardinal points, four intermediate directions, zenith & nadir), plus the Buddhas of the Three Ages 三世佛 (past,4.

present & future), who are Amida (past), Shaka (present), Miroku (future). Total = 13.
Based on the Jūsandai-in 十三大院 (thirteen great courts) of the Taizōkai mandala 胎蔵界曼荼羅 (Womb World Mandala).

5.
6.

Based on the layout of the Chūdai Hachiyō-in 中臺八葉院 (central court of the Womb World Mandala), with Dainichi Buddha in the center,surrounded by four other Buddhas, four Bodhisattvas, & four directional guardians. Total = 13. See chart at right.

Based on astrotheology. Writes Steven Hutchins (p.96): “The emphasis on the number seven can only derive from the Seven Planets of theAncients (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) from which we get our days of the week. Thirteen designates the 13 moon cycles in ayear. The 13 Buddha Rites stem from an ancient form of astrotheology – a theology founded on the observation of the heavenly bodies. Thus, thedeceased’s journey from death to reincarnation in the 13 Buddhist Rites embodies the grander motions & cycles of sidereal time.” Note: Many
civilizations were aware of the need to add an intercalary month – a 13th month – to make the year align with the seasons.

Slide 3. CONCLUSIONS UP FRONT.

Four don't conform to modern dates ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑

Download chart in Excel || Adobe PDF

SPECULATION. The 13th-14th centuries ushered
in Buddhism for the commoner (Pure Land, Zen,
Nichiren). The older esoteric Tendai school,
meanwhile, was nearing the peak of its power.
Tendai's arch rival, the Shingon school, was hence
under pressure to retain its followers, and so it
concocted the group of 13 Buddhist Deities, largely
to counteract the growing popularity of the Pure
Land, Zen & Nichiren schools & the rising power of
Tendai. Amida (Pure Land) faith was [perhaps] thedriving force in the adoption of China's 10 Kings ofHell & their linkage with 10 Buddhist deities. The
10 rites for the dead, based on China's 10 Kings,
2 The 13 Buddhist Deities were created by the Shingon school. There is no conclusive textual evidence, but all fingers point to Shingon.
became a standard part of funerary rites in Tendai,a The Dual World Mandala (composed of the Diamond World and Womb World mandalas) is especially important to the esoteric Shingon school.
Shingon, Pure Land, Zen & Nichiren traditions.
Shingon added three more deities, kings & rites
b The Womb World Mandala has "13 great courts" 十三大院. Mapping the 13 Deities into the central Womb World Court yields a coherent group. See Slide 2.
(extending until the 33rd year after death) to remainc Among the 13 Deities, the first (Fudō) & last three (Ashuku, Dainichi, Kokūzō) are revered primarily by Shingon & play key roles in mandala cosmology.
relevant. The number 33 is associated withd The moon is another big indicator. The "moon meditation" (GACHIRINKAN 月輪觀) is perhaps the most critical meditation practice in esoteric Buddhism.
Kannon, a member of the 13. The number 33
involves the forms Kannon takes to save believers,e In the esoteric Diamond World Mandala 金剛界曼荼羅, the divinities are often shown seated in the circle of a full moon.
as described in the Lotus Sutra. Today there aref As argued herein, the 13 Buddhist Deities are also likely derived from the 13 cycles of the moon (the intercalary 13th month).
many 33-site pilgrimages to Kannon. As for
3 Sources for the Topmost Chart
Ancestor Worship in Japan, 33 years marks thepoint when, says Hutchins pp. 64-65: "the(a) Scripture on Jizō & the 10 Kings 佛説地藏菩薩發心因縁十王經, late 12th C., the earliest text that pairs the 10 Kings with Ten Buddhist deities; considered an
apocryphal Japanese text; (b) Kōbō Daishi Gyakushu Nikkinokoto 弘法大師逆修日記事, early 15th C; Japanese text listing the 13 Buddhist deities, postmortem dates deceased’s spirit passes from ‘distant’ to ‘remote’& they become a full-fledged ancestor of the& premortem dates; (c) Kagakushū 下学集, 1444, a Japanese text listing the 13 postmortem & premortem dates; (d) Jūsanbutsu Honji-Suijaku Kenbetsu Shaku 十三 household." After 33 years, the dead are
仏本地垂迹簡別釈 of early Edo (??); date unknown. (e) Hutchins has correlated the deity lists in most of these works in his book Thirteen Buddhas. (f) 10 Days of
considered ancestral spirits. Buddhist rites are
Fasting in 10th-C. (??) Ten Purifying Days of Jizō; (g) Secret Buddhist Deities of 30 Days of the Month, a 10th-C. group from China that appears in 14th-C. Japanese stopped. Today, death rites vary widely in Japan,
texts; (h) Eight Buddhist Zodiac Protectors; popularized in Edo era (1603 - 1867). They appear in the 1783 Butsuzō-zu-i (p. 70) 仏像図彙; (i) Sūtras & Texts on Jizō. but the 33rd year is still crucial.
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

Japan's 13 Buddhist Deities are a clever way to appeal to the largest possible congregation. The group's deities include:
Traditional triad featuring Shaka (Historical Buddha), a Pure Land Triad featuring Amida, and an Esoteric Triad featuring Dainichi.
A fourth triad is embedded as well -- the Buddhas of Three Ages 三世佛 -- featuring Amida (Past), Shaka (Present), Miroku (Future).
The three remaining deities (Fudō, Jizō, Yakushi) are among Japan's most beloved divinities.
Jizō & Miroku are paired (Jizō represents the Future Buddha Miroku); Jizō is also a popular member of the Pure Land school.
Jizō & Kokūzō are paired (Jizō as earth / matter and Kokūzō as space / void). This is unequivocally linked to China's five elements.
The Jizō and Kokūzō pairing is also unequivocally linked to Japan's five-tier memorial graveyard stones and wooden graveyard tablets.
Fudō and Dainichi are paired. Fudō is a manifestation of Dainichi. The two share the same holy day.
Yakushi and Ashuku are paired (perhaps); both are lords of the Eastern ParadiseSlide 4. SEVEN SEVENTH-DAY RITES & TEN KINGS OF THE UNDERWORLD.
The Shichi-shichi-nichi chūin 七七日中陰(seven X seven = 49 days between death &rebirth; login = guest) can be traced back to
India. The term appears in the 4th-C. AD
Yogacāra bhūmi-śāstra 瑜伽師地論 (login =guest); T.1579.30.282b1. The concept playeda pivotal role in the 8th-C. Tibetan Book of
the Dead. The seven-sevens also appear in
Sanskrit & Pali texts of the 3rd & 4th C. AD(eg, Mahāvastu, Nidanakatha, Lalitavistara,& Mahabodhi Vamsa). The latter work saysthe Historical Buddha fasted for 7 weeks (49days) after attaining enlightenment.
JAPANESE PRECEDENTS: ▀ 687 AD, 100th day
memorial, Nihon Shoki 日本書紀; held at fivetemples for Emperor Tenmu 天武天皇.
▀ 735 AD, seven seventh-day rites 七七斎
mentioned by Emperor Shōmu 太上天皇 in theimperially commissioned historical record
Shoku Nihongi 続日本紀. ▀ 757 AD, 1st year
memorial 周忌, Shoku Nihongi; held forEmperor Shōmu 太上天皇 at Tōdaiji. ▀ 11thC. Shōryōshū 性霊集 (scroll 7), 3rd year rites
for Kūkai; text also mentions 7th week & 1styear rites. By the end of the Heian era (7941185 AD), there is textual evidence ofmemorial services connecting the 49 days
with specific Buddhist deities, e.g., diary of
Taira no Nobunori 平信範 (1112 - 1187)
entitled Hyōhanki 兵範記. ▀ FOR MORE: See
Karen Gerhart, pp. 19-26.

China's Ten Kings (Jūō 十王) appear in the
Scripture on the Ten Kings 佛說預修十王生七經,compiled in China sometime in the 9th or early
10th C. AD. The dead undergo trials by the ten,with the first seven kings covering the crucial
seven-week (49 day) period, followed by three
more trials on the 100th day, the 1st year, & the
3rd year after death. The 100th day, 1st year, &3rd year rites are found in the Chinese Book of
Rites, said to be the work of Confucius (551–479
BC). The ancient term for the 100th day rite was卒哭 (scroll 21). The ancient terms for 1st year
and 3rd year rites were 小祥 & 大祥 (scroll 37).
Writes Hutchins (p.52 & p.115): "The Scripture on
the Ten Kings says that release [for the dead]can be obtained if the grieving family sends
offerings to each ot the Ten Kings at theappropriate time. Further, it was thought to beeven more beneficial to send offerings to the
Ten Kings on one's own behalf while still living.
In China, such offerings were made as far backas the 9th C. in the form of ten fasting days.
Thus, this scripture promoted both postmortem& premortem rituals.” Teiser (1994, p. 53) notesthat Taoist texts show the ritual of ten fastingdays may have existed as far back as the 6th C.
Both China & Japan (seemingly in tandem)"paired" the Ten Kings with Buddhist Deities, but
the pairings show no known correspondence.
Likewise, China/Japan (seemingly in tandem)
paired Jizō 地蔵 & Enma 閻魔 (lord of hell).

The Ten Kings arrived in Japan in the late Heian era (794-1185). Says Duncan R.
Williams (p. 231): "The ten memorial rites for the dead, based on belief in the Ten
Kings, were developed in Japanese apocryphal sūtras (login = guest) & later became
a standard part of funerary rites in Shingon, Tendai, Zen, Jōdō, & Nichiren traditions.
Paintings depicting the Ten Kings judging the dead were used for ritual or didactic
purposes at times when the ancestral spirits were thought to return to this world."
Artwork of the 13 Buddhist Deities appeared in Japan in the late 12th C. But texts
referring to the 13 Deities do not appear until the Muromachi era (1392-1573).
According to Ueshima Motoyuki 植島基行 (1975), it is unclear when the 13 Deity
Rites were first used. In the Muromachi era, however, Ueshima says offering tablets(kuyōhi 供養碑) to the 13 Deities were built all around Japan. Ueshima believes thesewere built for the performance of Gyakushu Kuyō 逆修供養 (reverse performance
benefits; aka "premortem" rites) by ordinary folk. Gyakushu, aka yoshu 預修, isperformed while one is still alive to accrue benefits for oneself after death. In
postmortem rites (Tsuizen Kuyō 追善供養) for the dead, the deceased only acquires
1/7th of the benefits, while the performer acquires 6/7th. In the Gyakushu, theperformers acquire the full 7/7 benefits for themselves. For this reason the ritual isalso called Shichibu Kentoku 七分全得. For more details on rituals involving the 13
Deities, see Karen Mack's Notebook. Elsewhere, Watanabe Shōgo 渡辺章悟 (1989, p.
210) estimates that, across Japan, there are more than four hundred medievalmonuments (ihin 遺品) dedicated to the 13 Deities. Many of these are catalogued
online by Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. The 12th/13th C. Scripture on Jizō & Ten Kings 佛説地藏菩薩發心因縁十王經 (see Tripitaka CBETA) is the oldest text that pairs the kings
with ten Buddhist deities. It is considered a Japanese text but its precise origin is
unknown. In medieval times, China too "paired" its ten kings with Buddhist deities(Slide Five), but the China / Japan pairings show no correspondence. The Jizō =Enma link likely occurred in China before Japan. By the mid-14th C., Japan had
added three more deities, three more kings, & three more memorial rites (i.e., 7th,
13th, 33rd years). These new deities and rites are found only in Japan. The thirteen
likely originated with Japan’s Shingon school, but they were widely appropriated byother schools.

Slide 5. Ten Kings of Underworld & Jizō Bodhisattva, 12th century, Baodingshan, China. Carved between 1179 and 1249 AD. Buddhist counterparts to the kings
are carved in the niches above, clearly showing early Chinese examples of honji-suijaku (i.e., pairing Buddhist deities with local gods). The Chinese pairings,
however, show no known correspondence to Japanese pairings. PHOTOS: Art and Archaeology ||| Eric Henry. SOURCE: The Inflatable, Collapsible Kingdom ofRetribution: A Primer on Japanese Hell Imagery and Imagination, Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Spring, 2008), pp. 1-50, by Caroline Hirasawa. She says

conceptions of hell, originating in India, picked up new attributes and finer delineation as they migrated across China and Korea to finally arrive in Japan. Writes
Hirasawa (p. 2): “Although the chronological development of notions of hell in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist thought on the subcontinent is difficult to determine,

the sparse descriptions in early texts clearly contain seeds of later elaborations. In Chinese translations of Indian sutras and commentaries that circulated widelyin Japan, hell functioned as part of an immense cosmology. Its contours varied greatly from text to text.”

Slide 6. Ten Kings & Ten Buddhist Counterparts 十仏十王図, 13th Century. Cartouche Style, Standard Grouping. PHOTO: Nara National Museum &Identifications. Says Hirasawa (p. 26): "As correspondences of originals (honji 本地) to manifestations (suijaku 垂迹) settled into standard formulae, theimportance and size of the honji increased. This reached an extreme in a 14th-century painting of a colossal Jizō appearing to stand directly on top of Enma's
head [see Nihon no Bijutsu 日本の美術, No. 313, Shibundō, 1992]. In another, later medieval cult, three buddhas associated with esoteric Buddhism joined theten honji of the kings. Eventually the suijaku completely fell away from the iconography, leaving only images of the thirteen buddhas for mortuary rites, withoutvisual references to judgment in hell."Slide 7. Ten Buddhist Deities and Ten Kings of Hell, Kamakura Era, non-standard grouping. Treasure of Okayama Prefecture. 絹本著色遣迎二尊十王十仏図.
Painting on Silk. PHOTO: Okayama Prefecture. RESOURCES: Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭 discusses this painting in Reconsideration on the Genesis of Jūsanbutsu
Paintings of the Thirteen Buddhas, Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu saikō: Okayama, Kiyamaji zō jūō jū honjibutsu zu o chūshin to shite 十三仏図の成立再考: 岡山・木山寺蔵十王十本地仏図を中心として. Published 1994 by Mikkyō Bunka 密教文化 188, pp. 29-60. Takeda traces the evolution of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities asfollows: ten kings with ten buddhas; ten kings with eleven buddhas; eleven buddhas (the kings vanish); & finally, thirteen Buddhas.

Slide 8. Ten Buddhist Deities Representing the Ten Kings of Hell, 1379 CE, standard grouping. Shaka in center. Fudō-in Ato 不動院跡, Katori City 香取市, Chiba,
Japan. H = 165 cm, W = 132 cm. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄.

Slide 9. Ten Judges of Underworld with Jizō (in center). Late 12th Century. Stone statues at Usuki, Ōita, Japan. PHOTO: JapanTravel. Says Hank Glassman, pp. 1819: "The idea that Jizō and Enma (lord of the world of the dead) are different manifestations of the same entity stems from the Japanese practice, wellestablished by the time of the composition of The Scripture on Jizō and the Ten Kings, of drawing equivalencies between Buddhist deities and local ones......Theequivalence between Jizō and Enma was one that was extremely well known and widely cited in premodern Japan in both text and image. In Chinese and Korean
paintings of the ten kings, Jizō was often accorded a central position. What is quite different in Japan is that Jizō is represented at the court of Enma, the fifthand greatest king, where he pleads on behalf of the deceased.....The immense popularity of Jizō in medieval and early modern Japan was fueled in large part by
the belief that Jizō was the best advocate for the sinner being judged before the magistrate Enma, since Jizō was in fact the alter ego of this terrifying andintimidating judge. This relationship, described in The Scripture on Jizō and the Ten Kings, is made explicit in Japanese paintings of Enma or Jizō [Slides 10~11].

Slide 10. Says Hutchins (p. 55): “Although the Ten Kings were not originally conceived as Buddhist deities, Jizō wasoften a central figure in many of the pictures and artworks of the Ten Kings imported to Japan in the early Heianperiod. To be able to understand this, we need to take into consideration Jizō’s interpretation as an alter ego ofKing Yama 閻魔 (Jp. = Enma), the lord of the world of the dead. In many of the paintings of the courts of the Ten
Kings produced in medieval Japan, Jizō is often superimposed above the fifth court of hell to demonstrate his roleas the twin of King Yama. Such an association suggested that other kings could also potentially be seen as
manifestations of Buddhist deities, and this view was made explicit in The Scripture on Jizō and the Ten Kings.
Like the earlier Scripture on the Ten Kings, it outlines the journey of the deceased’s spirit through ten courts ofpurgatory. The real importance of this text for our study is that it appears to be the earliest written record thatpairs the Ten Kings with Buddhist deities. This is commonly referred to as an example of honji suijaku 本地垂迹 — akind of assimilation process where the Ten Kings are seen as traces (suijaku), or alternative incarnations, of theoriginal Buddhas (honji).”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Ten Kings & Jizō. Nōman-in 能満院, Nara. Kamakura era. PHOTO: 日本の実をめぐる, No. 48, 2003, p. 37.
Ten Kings & Jizō. Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Late 14th century. PHOTO: Zenheart.
Jizō appearing above Enma, Jōfuku-ji 浄福寺, Kyoto. 14th C. PHOTO: 日本の美術, No. 313, 1992
Jizō with Ten Kings of Hell, Ryukoku Museum 龍谷ミュージアム, Kyoto. 15th C. PHOTO: Ryukoku Museum.
10 Kings & 10 Honji, Zuiun-ji Temple 瑞雲寺, Kanazawa. 15th C. PHOTO: Kanazawa City.

Slide 11. Six Realms & Ten Kings 六道十王図, Gokuraku Jigoku zu 極楽地獄図, 16th-17th century,
Chōgaku-ji Temple 長岳寺, Nara Prefecture, set of ten scrolls. Writes Hirasawa (p. 26): "The ten kings,
each with its honji, line up across the top of the scrolls, representing the process of judgment
through time. Vast scenes of hell and the six realms below the kings evoke a spatial cosmology,
subject to the temporal framework of judgment, and the scrolls conclude with a bridge leading from
Abi hell (阿鼻地獄, lowest hell, hell of no interval) directly to a raigō 来迎 ("greeting") by Amida and his
entourage, welcoming sinners to the Pure Land. According to Takasu Jun 鷹巣純, these images do not
merely patch together two traditions; they reconfigure and reinvigorate them as a mandatory circuit
through hell that ends in salvation -- and that audiences can experience vicariously." PHOTO: Nara
Women's University Academic Info Center.

Slide 12. Ten Judges of the Underworld. From the Japanese text Butsuzō-zui 仏像図彙 (Collected Illustrations of Buddhist Images), 1690 CE (Genroku 元禄 3).

Slide 13. Ten Judges of the Underworld. From the expanded version of the Butsuzō-zui 仏像図彙 (Slide 12), published in 1783 and entitled Zōho Shoshū

Butsuzō-zui 増補諸宗仏像図彙 (Enlarged Edition Encompassing Various Sects of the Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images). View digitized version.

Slide 14. Non-Standard Groupings of the Ten, Eleven, Twelve,
and Thirteen Buddhist Deities of Japan. 12th, 13th, & 14th Centuries

Slide 15. Sanskrit seed syllables (shuji 種字) involving Dainichi and other Buddhist deities in the Womb and Diamond World mandalas. The mandala (pronounced"mandara" in Japan) is especially important to Japan's Shingon and Tendai schools of esoteric Buddhism (mikkyō 密教). The most widely known mandala form inJapan is the Ryōkai Mandala 両界曼荼羅, translated as the Dual-World Mandala. It is composed of two separate mandala -- the Taizōkai 胎蔵界曼荼羅 or Womb
World mandala (Skt. = Garbhadhātu), and the Kongōkai 金剛界曼荼羅 or Diamond World mandala. (Skt. = Vajrahātu). At esoteric temples, the Diamond mandalais hung on the east axis to the main altar, while the Womb mandala is hung on the west. The Thirteen Buddhist Deities were created as a mini mandala set topray that one would not be reborn in a lower realm racked by hellish pain. SEED SOURCE: Tobifudō Shōbō-in 飛不動尊 正宝院.

Slide 16. Sanskrit seed syllables (shuji 種字) for Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities. SEED SOURCES: 潮音寺 ||| Tobifudō Shōbō-in.

Slide 17. Non-standard grouping, 1182 CE. One of the oldest representations of the thirteen in Japan. Tsutsuno 筒野, Iizuka City 飯塚市, Fukuoka. H = 146 cm.
Dainichi at center. This memorial stone is the centerpiece of a three-stone set. The thirteen are represented by their Sanskrit seed syllables and placements asfound in the central eight-pedal court (Chūdai Hachiyō-in 中台八葉院) of the Womb World Mandala. In the top row, Dainichi sits in the center surrounded on
both sides by two other Buddhas. In the middle mandala section, all thirteen Sanskrit seeds and placements conform to the Womb World Mandala. At the bottom
are Three Gongen (権現 avatars) of Mt. Hiko, confirming that Honji Suijaku 本地垂迹 concepts were already employed at this early date. The Sanskrit seed for ア(Ah) is given special importance in Esoteric Buddhism. It represents the origin of all vowels, the basis of speech, and the "essence of all things." It is the object of
the AJIKAN 阿字觀 meditation ritual, one of the key rituals in Esoteric Buddhism. The inscription reads 勧進僧圓朝、奉立石躰、五智如来像、彦山三所権現、八葉曼荼
羅梵字、現世末代行者修理、養和二年 (1182 CE) 、歳次、壬寅、八月初四日、壬刁、時正中. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. He catalogs hundreds of memorial stones
at 13 Buddhist Deities ||| Stone Buddhist Statues ||| Itabi.

Slide 18. Late 12th Century. Non-standard grouping. Stone carvings in Usuki, Ōita, Japan. The Four Deities Guarding the Four Cardinal Directions typically refers
to the Shitennō 四天王, but at Usuki, only two of the four (Tamonten and Zōchōten) make their appearance -- the other two (Kōmokuten and Jikokuten) are
missing. They have been replaced by Fudō Myō-ō and Gōzanze Myō-ō, two protector deities closley associated with Dainichi and Esoteric Buddhism. The
Diamond World Mandala, for example, features a Dainichi Triad (Dainichi Sanzon 大日三尊) that includes Gōzanze, while the Womb World Mandala features a
Dainichi Triad that includes Fudō. Here we see a creative blending of the dual-world mandala. Dainichi is in the center (suggesting esoteric origin). Jizō ismissing, but can be found in a nearby grotto surrounded by the Ten Kings of the Underworld (see Slide 9 for image). Although the origin (date, sponsor) of the
Usuki carvings is clouded in uncertainty, most locals say they were commissioned by a rich man after his daughter died to save her from rebirth in an evil realm.
Standard mandala positioning verified using the Mandara Zuten 曼荼羅図典, 1993, published by Daihorinkaku 大法輪閣. More on Usuki.

Slide 19. Late 12th century. Non-standard grouping. Usuki Magaibutsu 臼杵石仏 Stone carvings in Usuki, Ōita (Japan) after their 1980-to-1994 repair (compare
to next photo). These thirteen statues might be the prototype for the Thirteen Buddhist Deities of Japan. PHOTO: Japanese magazine National Treasures ofJapan 日本の国宝, July 13, 1997. Deity names and English text added by Schumacher.

Slide 20. Late 12th century. Non-standard grouping. Usuki Magaibutsu 臼杵石仏.
Stone carvings in Ōita (Japan), shown here before their restoration. PHOTO: This J-Site.

Slide 21. MANDALA OF ELEVEN VENERABLES. The Ten Kings of Hell (see Slides 5~13) do not appear in this piece, but the honji-suijaku 本地垂迹 pairing of the ten kings (suijaku)
with ten Buddhist counterparts (honji) is implicit. Here we see only the ten Buddhist counterparts (the kings disappear). The only new member (the 11th member) is Dainichi
Buddha, who appears here at the center of a three-column, three-row mandala format. This suggests an esoteric origin – either Tendai or Shingon – and in the above example, it
happens to be Tendai. PHOTO: Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭, Concerning the Origins of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities: Their Development from the Mandala of Eleven Venerables, pp.
22-24, Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu ni tsuite: Jūichison mandara zu kara no tenkai 十三仏図の成立について：十一尊曼荼羅図からの展開. Mikkyō Bunka 169 (Feb. 1990). Also see
Takeda’s 1994 article Reconsideration on the Genesis of Jūsanbutsu Paintings of the Thirteen Buddhas, Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu saikō: Okayama, Kiyamaji zō jūō jū honjibutsu

zu o chūshin to shite 十三仏図の成立再考: 岡山・木山寺蔵十王十本地仏図を中心として. Published by Mikkyō Bunka 密教文化 188, pp. 29-60. Also see Takeda’s 1997

article Iconographic Development of the Ten Kings’ Sūtra: Centering on the Illustrated Ten-Kings’ Sūtra Paintings of Hirokawa-dera in Osaka, Yoshujūō shōshichikyō no zuzōteki

tenkai: Ōsaka Hirokawadera zō Jūō kyō hensōzu o chūshin to shite 預修十王生七経の図像的展開: 大阪・弘川寺蔵十王経変相図を中心として. Published by Museum 547, pp. 5-27.

Takeda traces the general evolution of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities as follows: ten kings with ten buddhas; ten kings with eleven buddhas; eleven buddhas (the kings vanish);and finally, thirteen buddhas.

Slide 22. PHOTO: Tokyo National Museum. For more on the Mandala of Eleven Venerables and its impact on the evolution of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities, see
Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭, Concerning the Origins of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities: Their Development from the Mandala of Eleven Venerables, pp. 2224, Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu ni tsuite: Jūichison mandara zu kara no tenkai 十三仏図の成立について：十一尊曼荼羅図からの展開. Mikkyō Bunka 169 (Feb. 1990).
Also see Takeda’s 1994 article Reconsideration on the Genesis of Jūsanbutsu Paintings of the Thirteen Buddhas, Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu saikō: Okayama,

Kiyamaji zō jūō jū honjibutsu zu o chūshin to shite 十三仏図の成立再考: 岡山・木山寺蔵十王十本地仏図を中心として. Published by Mikkyō Bunka 密教文化 188, pp.
29-60. See also Takeda’s 1997 article Iconographic Development of the Ten Kings’ Sūtra: Centering on the Illustrated Ten-Kings’ Sūtra Paintings of Hirokawa-dera in Osaka, Yoshujūō shōshichikyō no zuzōteki tenkai: Ōsaka Hirokawadera zō Jūō kyō hensōzu o chūshin to shite 預修十王生七経の図像的展開: 大阪・弘川寺蔵
十王経変相図を中心として. Published by Museum 547, pp. 5-27. Takeda traces the general evolution of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities as follows: ten kings withten buddhas; ten kings with eleven buddhas; eleven buddhas (the kings vanish); and finally, thirteen buddhas.

Slide 23. 1306 CE. Non-standard grouping. Twelve Buddhist Deities on a six-sided memorial stone (Hozuki Rokumenseidō 保月六面石幢; H = 265 cm). Takahashi City,
Okayama, Japan. Fudō appears twice; Dainichi and Ashuku are missing. Three triads appear -- the Shaka Triad (Shaka, Monju, Fugen), the Amida Triad (Amida, Kannon,
Seishi), and the Buddhas of Three Ages (Amida = past, Shaka = present, Miroku = Future). Says Steven Hutchins (Masters Degree, SOAS, 2013) in his book Thirteen
Buddhas (pp. 75~76): "The inscription shows that the pillar was constructed for rituals connected to twelve Buddhist deities, and Kawakatsu alleges that it was likely
used for premortem offerings as opposed to memorial services for the deceased. But what else can be surmised from this monument? Yajima asserts that theconnection of the Buddhas with the period of time extending to thirteen years reveals an intermediate stage of development between the Ten Kings and the Thirteen
Buddhas. In other words, this pillar indicates a ‘transitional period’ where the selection of Buddhist deities started to exceed beyond ten, but had not yet reached thefixed order of what would later become the Thirteen Buddhas." PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. See his index pages here: Thirteen Buddhist Deities ||| Stone Buddhist
Statues. Also see Kawakatsu Seitarō 川勝政太郎, 1969, Jūsanbutsu shinkō no shiteki tenkai 十三仏信仰の史的展開 (Evolution of Jūsannbutsu Faith), Journal of Ōtemae
College 大手前女子大学論集, no. 03, pp. 94-111. Also see Yajima Arata 矢島新. 1990. Gunma-ken ka no butsuga kara: Numatashi Shōkakuzō Jūōzu to Jyūsanbutsu

Seiritsu no Mondai 群馬県下の仏面から: 沼田市正覚寺蔵十王図と十三仏成立の問題 (Ten Kings' Art and the Origins of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities: Shōgaku-ji Temple,
Numata City). Bulletin of Gunma Prefectural Women’s College 群馬県立女子大学紀要, No. 10, pp. 63-73.

Slide 24. 1329 CE. Non-standard grouping. Ten Buddhist Deities represented by their Sanskrit seed syllables, which appear along the right and left sides. It
includes two Dainichi and one Fukūjōshū. Stone stele. H = 100 cm, W = 48 cm. Dairyū-ji Temple 大龍寺, Katori City, Chiba, Japan. The large seed in the middle
represents Amida. An additional five seeds appear at the top of the stone -- they represent the five elements. To this day, the five elements are a common motif
on long wooden graveyard prayer tablets in Japan. This stone stele is important evidence that the honji-suijaku pairing of the Ten Buddhist Deities (honji) with
the Ten Judges of Hell (suijaku; see Slides 3~13) was not yet standardized at this late date. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄 ||| Tobifudo Shōbō-in 正寶院.

Slide 25. 1345 CE. Non-standard grouping, with three esoteric manifestations of Dainichi.
Tokigawa-machi, Saitama, Japan. Ashuku and Kokūzō are missing.
PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. His site catalogs hundreds of stone memorials.

Slide 26. 1359 CE. Non-standard grouping. Enmeiji 延命寺, Sakatashi City 酒田市, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Twelve Buddhist deities
symbolized by their Sanskrit seed syllables. Says Steven Hutchins (Masters Degree, SOAS, 2013) in his book Thirteen Buddhas (pp.

78~80): "Another example that further illustrates this transitional period [editor: from 10, to 11, to 12, to 13 deities] is a stone memorial
located in a Shingon temple in Yamagata prefecture called Enmeiji 延命寺. The inclusion of twelve deities suggest a movement towards
the Thirteen Buddhas, but the centrality of the Amida triad in this monument indicates that this could also be looked on as Ten Buddhas
with Amida as the main honzon -- the Amida triad counting as one single Buddha. The appearance of Kongō Satta provides anotherproblem for researchers attempting to link this monument with the Thirteen Buddha Rites. Kawakatsu says that although the addition of
Ashuku is consistent with a general transition towards the Thirteen Buddhas, he is at a loss to explain why Kongō Satta should be

included. One possibility is that the Sanskrit inscription for Kongō Satta could have been mistakenly transmitted instead of Dainichi’s."Mark here. Kongō Satta appears in a Dainichi Triad in the Diamond World Mandala, so Kongō Satta’s appearance can be justified.
Inscription = Unable to find it on web. PHOTO: This J-site. Also see Kawakatsu Seitarō 川勝政太郎. 1969. Jūsanbutsu shinkō no shiteki

tenkai 十三仏信仰の史的展開 (Evolution of Jūsanbutsu Faith), Journal of Ōtemae College 大手前女子大学論集, no. 03, pp. 94-111.

Slide 27. 1378 CE. Non-standard grouping. Thirteen Buddhist Deities symbolized by their Sanskrit seeds. Haguro Jūsanbutsu Dō 羽黒十三仏堂, Inzai City 印西市,
Chiba, Japan. H = 117 cm, W = 97 cm. Here we see the ten Buddhist manifestations (honji) of the Ten Kings of the Underworld (suijaku), with the addition of

three manifestations of Dainichi. This memorial stone is important evidence that the honji-suijaku pairing of the Ten Buddhist Deities with the Ten Judges ofHell was largely standardized by this time. What is unusual here is the arrangement of the deities. It differs greatly from the standard format. Also, this stone
confirms that the Thirteen Buddhist Deities were still showing regional variations in the late 14th century. In the standard group (which emerged in the mid14th century), the last three are Ashuku, Dainichi, and Kokūzō. But here, the last three are esoteric manifestations of Dainichi. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄.

Slide 28. 1397 CE. Non-standard grouping. Thirteen Buddhist Deities symbolized by their Sanskrit seeds. Tafuku-in 多福院, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi, Japan. H =212 cm, W = 45.5 cm. Here we see the ten Buddhist manifestations (honji) for the Ten Kings of the Underworld (suijaku), plus three manifestations of Dainichi.

This memorial stone is important evidence that the honji-suijaku pairing of the Ten Buddhist Deities with the Ten Judges of Hell was largely standardized by thistime. Also, this stone confirms that the Thirteen Buddhist Deities were still showing regional variations in the late 14th century. In the stardard group, which
emerged in the mid-14th century, the last three are Ashuku, Dainichi, and Kokūzō. But here, the last three are esoteric manifestations of Dainichi. Sanskrit
seeds involving the sound ア (A) are given special importance in Esoteric Buddhism. "A" represents the origin of all vowels, the basis of speech, and the "essenceof all things." It is the object of the AJIKAN 阿字觀 meditation ritual, one of the key rituals in Esoteric Buddhism. All this suggests Esoteric origins.
PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄.

Slide 29. Standard Grouping of Japan's 13 Buddhist Deities.

Slide 30. Mandala Pattern. Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities include (A) five buddha with Dainichi at center; (B) four bodhisattva guarding four semi-directions;and (C) four deities guarding four cardinal directions. 5 + 4 + 4 = 13. Except for Miroku (normally NE) and Shaka (normally N), the deities are placed properly.
Along the north-south axis in both non-standard and standard groupings, Miroku (N) is the Buddha of the Future, while Shaka (S) is the Buddha of the Present.
In the standard format, Miroku is joined by Kokūzō (sky repository) in the north and Shaka by Jizō (earth repository) in the south. This Kokūzō/Jizō pairing is a
popular old pairing largely forgotten in modern times. And in early scriptures, Jizō comes from the south. Jizō is also aligned with Miroku on the north-southaxis, as Jizō vowed to remain among us doing good works until Miroku's return as the Buddha of the Future. In the standard group, Ashuku is placed in the east,
for Ashuku is lord of the eastern paradise Zenke 善快. Similarly, Amida is placed in the west, for Amida is lord of the western paradise Gokuraku 極楽, while
Yakushi is situated in the east, for Yakushi is lord of the eastern paradise Jōruri 浄瑠璃. Also, Ashuku and Fudō appear on the east-west axis along with Dainichi.
This is befitting, as Ashuku (E) appears in a Dainichi triad in the Diamond World mandala, while Fudō (W) appears in a Dainichi triad in the Womb World mandala.
In Japanese esoteric Buddhism, the Diamond World mandala is hung on the east axis to the altar, while the Womb World mandala is hung on the west. CHARTLAYOUT = Womb World Mandala's central eight-pedal court (Chūdai Hachiyō-in 中台八葉院).

Slide 31. Standard Grouping, Common Art Formats.
Methods to easily identify Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities.

Slide 32. Three Buddha Center Pattern. Standard Grouping.
Three Buddha in middle column and three in middle row.

Slide 33. 1373 CE. Three Buddha Center Format, Standard Grouping. Mantoku-ji Temple 萬徳寺, Obama
City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. H = 113.1 cm, W = 52.4 cm. Depicts three Buddha in middle column andthree Buddha in middle row. One of the oldest extant paintings of the thirteen in Japan. Dainichi wearing
crown (a common esoteric representation). PHOTO: Obama City.

Slide 34. Modern. Three Buddha Center Pattern, Standard Grouping. H = 53 cm, W = 25.5 cm (painting only). Gallery
Tenjiku, Japan. Same format/layout as prior slide. Depicts three Buddha in middle column and three Buddha in middle
row. The Shaka Triad and Amida Triad are also prominent. PHOTO: item.rakuten.co.jp

Slide 35. 1553 CE. Three Buddha Center Pattern with slight variation. Cartouche Style, Standard Grouping. Anyōji Temple 安養寺, Tsuyama
City, Okayama, Japan. Prefectural Treasure. H = 109.0 cm, W = 57.4 cm. Three Buddha in middle column and in middle row. Dainichi isplaced next to Kokūzō in the top row -- this is a slight variation of the Three Buddha Center Pattern, wherein Dainichi is normally positioned
in the center of the middle column. PHOTO: e-tsuyama.com

Slide 36. The zigzag pattern is one of the most popularformats for paintings of Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities.

Slide 37. 14th Century. Zigzag Pattern, Standard Grouping.
H = 95 cm, W = 37 cm. Okayama Prefectural Museum, Japan. Prefectural Treasure.
PHOTO: kenhaku.pref.okayama.jp or see larger photo from museum.

Slide 38. Muromachi Era, Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping.
H = 100.8 cm, W = 41.7 cm. Hyōgo Pref. Museum of History.
PHOTO: hyogo-c.ed.jp

Slide 39. Kamakura era. Zigzag Pattern Variation. Standard Grouping. Variation = Dainichi is locateddirectly below Kokūzō (i.e., Dainichi and Ashuku have swapped positions). Sakai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture,
Japan. H = 170 cm, W = 60 cm. I question the validity of this early dating given the sub-standard info
and photo provided by the source. PHOTO: town.sakai.ibaraki.jp

Slide 40. 1497 CE. Zigzag Pattern Variation. Standard Grouping.Variation = Dainichi is located directly
below Kokūzō (i.e., Dainichi and Ashuku have swapped positions). Tōfukuji Temple 東福寺, Kyoto, Japan.
Tōfukuji is a Shingon temple. Miroku Bosatsu (the Buddha of the Future) is colored white like the otherfive Buddha. PHOTO: www.toufukuji.or.jp/original7.html

Slide 41. 1553 CE. Zigzag Pattern with slight variation. Standard Grouping. Variation = Dainichi is located directly below Kokūzō (i.e.,
Dainichi and Ashuku have swapped positions). Graveyard memorial stone. Shideharabochi 椣原墓地, Ikomagun Heguri chō 生駒郡平群町, Nara
Prefecture, Japan. H = 173 cm. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. Also see blog.goo.ne.jp or this J-site for more photos.

Slide 42. 1556 CE. Zigzag Pattern Variation. Standard Grouping. Variation = Dainichi is located directly

below Kokūzō (i.e., Dainichi and Ashuku have swapped positions). Tendai temple Gokuraku-ji 極楽寺 in
Fukui Prefecture, Japan. PHOTO: city.obama.fukui.jp

Slide 43. 1590 CE. Zigzag Pattern with slight variation. Standard Grouping. Variation = Dainichi is located directly below
Kokūzō (i.e., Dainichi and Ashuku have swapped positions). Shōbō-ji Temple 正法寺, Neyagawa City, Osaka, Japan.

Stone. H 185 cm. Next to it is a six-character Amida memorial stone. H 163 cm x W 86 cm. PHOTO: Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲
雄. For more photos, see this J-site.

Slide 44. Zigzag Pattern, Standard Grouping
1. Ōtsu-e, Edo era. Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. PHOTO: Ōtsu City Museum of History 大津市歴史博物館.
2. Ōtsu-e, Edo era. Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. PHOTO: Machida City Museum, Tokyo 町田市立博物館蔵
3. Ōtsu-e, Edo era. Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. PHOTO: Momose Osamu 百瀬治氏 Collection, HiHuMi Art.
4. Learn more about Ōtsu-e at JAANUS.

Slide 45. Linear Pattern
Thirteen Buddhist Deities of Japan

Slide 46. Kamakura Era. Linear Pattern. Standard Grouping. Jūrin-in Temple 十輪院, Nara, Japan. Jūrin-in is a
Shingon temple founded in the Kamakura period. Known as a funerary temple. PHOTOS: jurin-in.com; f For the
more believable reproduction, see this J-site.

Slide 47. 1414 CE. Reverse Linear Pattern. Standard Grouping. Baiyū-ji Temple 梅遊寺, Bungotagada City 豊後高田市,
Ōita, Japan. H = 119 cm, W = 70 cm. Top-down linear pattern, starting with Fudō in top right corner. PHOTO: Kawai
Tetsuo 河合哲雄. His site catalogs hundreds of memorial tablets.

Slide 48. 1515 CE, Linear Pattern, Standard Grouping.
Saitama Prefecture Museum of History & Folklore, Japan. PHOTO: city.kuki.lg.jp

Slide 49. Denominational Patterns of Japan's Thirteen Buddhist Deities.
Amida (Pure Land), Dainichi (Shingon-Tendai) or Shaka (Zen) are portrayed larger
than the other deities or positioned in the center of the painting.

Slide 50. 15th century. Pure Land Style. Standard Grouping. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). A type of Raigō-zu 来迎図 (welcoming
descent) painting of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities of Japan. Amida at center, larger than the others. Followers of Pure Land Buddhism believethat upon death, Amida and retinue will descend from Amida’s Western Pure Land 西方極楽浄土 to earth to welcome and escort the devotee
back to Amida’s Paradise. Here the Raigō format is used to portray the Thirteen Buddhist Deities descending with Amida. Three triads are stillintact despite the unusual positionings (Dainichi triad, Shaka triad, and Amida triad). PHOTO: LACMA.

Slide 51. Late Edo era perhaps, but no date given by source. Pure Land Style. Standard Grouping. Welcoming-Descent Style (Raigō-zu 来迎図).
Size (painting only) = H 92.5 cm X W 47.2 cm. PHOTO: auctions.yahoo.co.jp. Sadly, the prior link no longer functions, as the piece was soldand the online page deleted. However, searching Yahoo Auctions for 十三仏 yields other interesting images of the thirteen.

Slide 52. Modern. Pure Land Style. Standard Grouping.
Welcoming-Descent Format (Raigō-zu 来迎図).
Also includes the theme of 25 Bodhisattvas (Nijūgo Bosatsu 二十五菩薩).
PHOTO: oparaq.com

Slide 53. Edo era. Dainichi / Shingon Style. Standard Grouping. Mandala-type configuration. This is an OFUDA 御札 (votive slip of paper
distributed by temples as charms or talismans). Kōbō Daishi (founder of Japan's Shingon school) at bottom. Dainichi appears larger than theothers. Temple art (no location or date given); probably Edo era. PHOTO: this J-siteSlide 54. Modern. Shingon Style. Standard Grouping. Dainichi in center.
Kōbō Daishi (founder of Japanese Shingon) appears at bottom.
The Five Buddha (plus Miroku) clustered at center.
PHOTO: ankado.jp/SHOPSlide 55. Modern. Shingon Style & Zen Style. Standard Grouping.
PHOTOS: Shingon Butsugan // Zen Butsugan // Kongōbu-ji Treasure.

Slide 56. Modern. Shaka / Zen Style. Standard Grouping. Shaka at bottom-row center.
Next to Shaka are Monju and Fugen; the trio form a Shaka Triad, just as Amida, Seishi and Kannon
form an Amida Triad, and Kokūzō, Dainichi and Ashuku form an Esoteric Triad.
PHOTO: Rakuten

Slide 57. Modern. Shaka / Zen Style. Standard Grouping.
Shaka Buddha at center. Dimensions unknown.
PHOTO: Taihou. View more art here.

Slide 58. Modern. Shaka / Zen Style. Standard Grouping.
Shaka at bottom, larger than the others.
Scroll of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities hung in front of family altar during the July / August Obon お盆 period.
PHOTO: d.hatena.ne.jp.

Slide 59. Modern. Shaka / Zen Style. Standard Grouping. Piece for the family altar (butsudan 仏壇). H = 18 cm.
Used during Obon お盆 and other special times when praying for one's ancestors or living relatives or oneself.
In this piece, Shaka Buddha (Historical Buddha) is portrayed larger than the others.
PHOTOS: butuzou-world-shop.com

Slide 60. 1783 CE. Thirteen Buddhist Deities as they appear in the Zōho Shoshū Butsuzō-zui 増補諸宗仏像図彙 (Enlarged Edition
Encompassing Various Sects of the Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images); published 1783. PHOTO: View digitized version (frames 71& 72). The images include their names, their positioning from one through thirteen, and their judgement timeframe. No mention is made of
their association with the Ten Kings of Hell -- the Judges of the Underworld – who have disappeared entirely (see Slides 4 ~ 13 for more on
the Ten Kings). The 1783 Butsuzō-zui includes two pages (frames 60 & 61) devoted to the Ten Judges of the Underworld, in which
their honji (Buddhist counterparts) are listed. Above English translations and numbers by Schumacher.

Slide 61. 1783 CE. Secret Buddhist Deities of the 30 Days of the Month 三十日秘仏, 1783 version of the Butsuzō-zu-i 仏像図彙 (Illustrated
Compendium of Buddhist Images). The Butsuzō-zu-i was first published in 1690. Both the 1690 and 1783 versions include this grouping ofthirty, with twelve of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities appearing in both. Only Fudō is missing. What is curious is that the Thirteen Buddhist
Deities as an independent group DO NOT APPEAR in the 1690 version -- only in the 1783 version (frames 37 ~ 42). This suggests that the
13-deity grouping had not yet become popular. Did the development of the 30-deity grouping serve as the basis for the 13-deity group?
There is much overlap in the dates chosen for their worship. Which group came first? Did they develop in tandem? For standard pairings
with the kings of hell, judgement timeframes, and postmortem / premortem rites, see Slide 3.

Slide 62. 1783 CE. Sanjūbanshin, Thirty Kami Tutelaries of the 30 Days of the Month 三十番神, from the 1783 version of the Butsuzō-zu-i 仏
像図彙 (Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images). The Butsuzō-zu-i was first published in 1690. Both the 1690 and 1783 versions
include this grouping of thirty kami, with ten of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities appearing as honji (original ground, original identity) in both.
Only Ashuku, Miroku, and Monju are missing. What is curious is that the Thirteen Buddhist Deities DO NOT APPEAR in the 1690 version -only in the later 1783 version. This suggests that the 13-deity grouping had not yet become a popular grouping. Did the development of
the Sanjūbanshin influence the development of Thirteen Buddhist Deities? There is great overlap in the dates chosen for their worship.
Which group came first, or did they develop in tandem? PHOTO: 1783 version (frames 37 ~ 42).

Slide 63. Eight Buddhist Guardians of the Zodiac, known as the Ichidai Mamori Honzon 一代守本尊. In my private garden, Kamakura, early
20th century. This grouping of eight appears in the 1783 version of the Butsuzō-zu-i 仏像図彙 (frame 70). It is an Edo-era grouping thatreportedly sprang from the Thirteen Buddhist Deities (for it includes eight of the thirteen). These eight Buddhist deities are associated withthe twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac calendar. Each deity is associated with a specific Zodiac animal and serves as the protector(guardian, patron) for all people born in that animal year. Among the eight, four guard the four cardinal directions while the other four
guard the four semi-directions (the latter four are each associated with two animals, thus covering all 12 zodiac creatures). PHOTOS: Mark
Schumacher. For standard pairings with the kings of hell, judgement timeframes, and postmortem / premortem rites, see Slide 3.

Slide 64. Modern-day flyer for the Yamato Pilgrimage to the Thirteen Buddhist Deities 大和十三仏霊場, Nara. This pilgrimage was establishedin 1982. Standard Grouping. Here we see the Eight Buddhist Guardians of the Zodiac (Ichidai Mamori Honzon 一代守本尊). This group ofeight appears in the 1783 version of the Butsuzō-zu-i 仏像図彙 (frame 70). It is an Edo-era grouping that sprang from the Thirteen Buddhist
Deities (for it includes eight of the thirteen). These eight Buddhist deities are associated with the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac
calendar. Each deity is associated with a specific Zodiac animal and serves as the protector (guardian, patron) for all people born in thatanimal year. Among the eight, four guard the four cardinal directions while four others guard the four semi-directions (the latter four areeach associated with two animals, thus covering all 12 zodiac creatures). SOURCES: Flyer Image /// Site List/// Date Established.

Slide 65. Extant Artwork Outside Japan.
This visual guide was inspired by a posting on the JAHF (Japan Art History Forum).
This guide, befittingly, is dedicated to all the museum curators, art historians,
art collectors, scholars, students, and others who are JAHF members.

Slide 66. Sue Cassidy Clark, Private Collection.
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping.
Muromachi Era (1337 - 1573).
PHOTO: Mark Schumacher

Slide 67. 16th-century painting. PHOTO: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, donated to the Minneapolis
Institute of Art by Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation in 2015. Also see Art Through a Lifetime.

Slide 68. LACMA 15th century. Pure Land Style. Standard Grouping.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A type of Raigō-zu 来迎図 (welcoming descent)painting of the thirteen. Amida at center, larger than the others. PHOTO: LACMA.
This slide appeared earlier in the Denominational Pattern section (see Slide 50).

Slide 69. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Oregon. Nanboku-chō era.
Cartouche Style. Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping.
PHOTO OF THIRTEEN: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
PHOTO OF TEN KINGS: Korean painting, Edo era, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

Slide 70. British Museum. 17th Century.
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping.
PHOTO: britishmuseum.org. More photos here.

Slide 71. British Museum. 19th century.
Zigzag Pattern. Hand-colored woodblock print, mounted as hanging scroll.
PHOTO: britishmuseum.org

Slide 72. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas.
Cartouche Style, Zigzag Pattern, Standard Grouping.
Muromachi era (1337 - 1573).
PHOTO: Patricia GrahamSlide 73. MFA Boston. Late 17th century.
Zigzag Pattern. Woodblock/stencil print; ink on paper, with stenciled color.
PHOTO: mfa.org.

Slide 74. Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii. Muromachi era (1337 - 1573).
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. Hand-colored woodblock print.
PHOTO: honolulumuseum.org

Slide 75. Honolulu Museum of Art. Muromachi era.
Zigzag Pattern. Hand-colored woodblock print of the Thirteen Buddhist deities.
PHOTO: honolulumuseum.org

Slide 76. Ōtsu-e, 17th century.
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).
Hanging scroll; ink, color, & woodblock print on paper. PHOTO: metmuseum.org

Slide 77. Ōtsu-e, Modern.
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. By Shiga-based artist Ichiren 一蓮.
PHOTO: d.hatena.ne.jp. To learn more about Ichiren, click here.

Slide 78. Modern Ōtsu-e merchandise, available at the Ōtsu-e estore.
PHOTOS: Framed Version || Scroll Version || Kokūzō Cell-Phone Strap

Slide 79. Modern-day flyer for the Yamato Pilgrimage to the Thirteen Buddhist Deities 大和十三仏霊場, Nara. This pilgrimage was established in
1982. Standard Grouping. Eight of the thirteen are also known as the Eight Buddhist Guardians of the Zodiac (Ichidai Mamori Honzon 一代守本尊).
This group of eight appears in the 1783 version of the Butsuzō-zu-i 仏像図彙 (frame 70). It is an Edo-era grouping that sprang from the Thirteen

Buddhist Deities. These eight Buddhist deities are associated with the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac calendar. Each deity is associated witha specific Zodiac animal and serves as the protector (guardian, patron) for all people born in that animal year. PHOTOS: Flyer Image /// Site
List /// Date Established. Also see Slides 63~64 herein.

Slide 80. Modern.
Kyoto Pilgrimage to Thirteen Buddhist Deities 京都十三佛霊場会 (see here).
Zigzag Pattern. Standard Grouping. PHOTO: This J-site.

Slide 81. Kakuon-ji Temple 覚園寺, Kamakura.
Kakuon-ji Temple is the 11th site on the Kamakura Pilgrimage to the Thirteen Buddhist Deities.
Inside the compound, there is a cave with stone carvings of the thirteen (date unknown; probably 20th century).
PHOTO by Schumacher. To learn more about this pilgrimage, see this Japanese site.

Slide 82. This visual guide is open access, which means it is free to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or use for any other lawful purposes. The only
constraints are (1) I retain the copyright and must be properly cited whenever this guide is reproduced or distributed and (2) the user may not change the work in
any way. When viewing the slideshow online, make sure to periodically "refresh" your browser to ensure slides appear at their largest size. To refresh, press CtrlF5 on a PC. Press Command-R on a Mac.
1.

Evans-Wentz, W.Y. (translator). 1927. Tibetan Book of the Dead. Commonly dated to the 8th century CE.
Gerhart, Karen. 2009. The Material Culture of Death in Medieval Japan (pp. 19-26). Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
3. Glassman, Hank. 2012. The Face of Jizō: Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
4. Hiraswa, Caroline. 2008. The Inflatable, Collapsible Kingdom of Retribution. A Primer on Japanese Hell Imagery and Imagination. Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 63, No.へぎヴぇ 1 (Spring, 2008).
5. Hutchins, Steven. 2015. The 13 Buddhas: Tracing the Roots of the Thirteen Buddha Rites.
6. Kawai Tetsuo 河合哲雄. He catalogs hundreds of memorial stones at 13 Buddhist Deities and at Stone Buddhist Statues.
7. Kawakatsu Seitarō 川勝政太郎. 1969. Jūsanbutsu shinkō no shiteki tenkai 十三仏信仰の史的展開 (Evolution of Jūsannbutsu Faith), Journal of Ōtemae College 大手前女子大学論集, no. 03, pp. 94-111.
8. Mack, Karen. 2000. Notes on an article by Ueshima Motoyuki about the Thirteen Buddhist Deities.
9. McCormick, Melissa. 2009. Tosa Mitsunobu and the Small Scroll in Medieval Japan. See chapter two for a discussion of how paintings of the thirteen were used in the early 16th century.
10. Miyasaka Yūkō 宮坂宥洪. 2011. Jūsanbutsu shinkō no igi 十三仏信仰の意義 (Significance of Jūsanbutsu Faith). Gendai Mikkyō, no 23 現代密教第 23 号目次.
11. Ogurisu Kenji 小栗栖健治. 1991. Jūsanbutsu zu ni tsuite: jigoku e o egaku sakurei 十三仏図について－地獄絵を描く作例 (Concerning Jūsanbutsu Paintings: Examples of Hell Depictions) Shikai: Hyōgo
kenritsu rekishi hakubutsukan kiyō, jinkai 3, pp. 29-47, March 1991.
12. Payne, Richard. 1999. Shingon Services for the Dead in Religions of Japan in Practice, pp. 159-165.
13. Phillips, Quitman. 2003. Narrating the Salvation of the Elite: The Jōfukuji Paintings of the Ten Kings. Ars Orientalis, Vol. 33, pp. 120-145.
14. Picken, Stuart D.B. 2016. Parallel Worlds: Folk Religion, Life & Death in Japan. A serialised monograph on “Death in the Japanese Tradition: A Study in Cultural Evolution and Transformation.“
15. Shimizu Kunihiko 清水邦彦. 2002. Jizō jūōkyō kō 地蔵十王経考 (Reflections on the Scripture of Jizō and the Ten Kings). Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 51 (1) pp. 189-194.
16. Somegawa Eisuke 染川英輔. 1993. Mandara Zuten 曼荼羅図典. Published by Daihorinkaku 大法輪閣. (Illustrated Dictionary of Japan’s Dual World Mandala).
17. Stone, Jacqueline and Walter, Mariko Namba, editors. 2008. Death and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
18. Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭. 1990. Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu ni tsuite: Jūichison mandara zu kara no tenkai 十三仏図の成立について：十一尊曼荼羅図からの展開 (Concerning the Origins of the Thirteen
Buddhist Deities: Their Development from the Mandala of Eleven Honored Ones), pp. 22-24. Mikkyō Bunka 169 (Feb. 1990).
19. Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭. 1994. Jūsanbutsu zu no seiritsu saikō: Okayama, Kiyamaji zō jūō jū honjibutsu zu o chūshin to shite 十三仏図の成立再考: 岡山・木山寺蔵十王十本地仏図を中心として(Reconsideration on Genesis of Jūsanbutsu Art of Thirteen Buddhas). Published by Mikkyō Bunka 密教文化 188, pp. 29-60.
20. Takeda Kazuaki 武田和昭. 1997. Yoshujūō shōshichikyō no zuzōteki tenkai: Ōsaka Hirokawadera zō Jūō kyō hensōzu o chūshin to shite 預修十王生七経の図像的展開: 大阪・弘川寺蔵十王経変相図を中心として (Iconographic Development of the Ten Kings’ Sūtra: Centering on the Illustrated Ten-Kings’ Sūtra Paintings of Hirokawa-dera in Osaka). Published by Museum 547, pp. 5-27.
21. Teiser, Stephen. 1994. The Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
22. Tibetan Book of the Dead. 8th century. See “Evans-Wentz” above.
23. Ueshima Motoyuki 植島基行. 1971. Jūsanbutsu seiritsu e no tennkai 十三仏成立への展開 (How the Thirteen Buddhas Came into Existence). Published by Mikkyō Bunka 密教文化 94, pp. 14-18.
24. Ueshima Motoyuki 植島基行. 1975. Jūsanbutsu ni tsuite 十三仏について(上) & 十三仏について(下), Concerning 13 Buddha. Kanazawa Bunko Research 金澤文庫研究, No. 234 (Nov. 1975) & No. 235 (Dec.
1975). Ueshima gives four theories on the origins of the thirteen that credit Tendai monk Ennin 圓仁 (794-864), Shingon monk Myōe 明慧 (1173-1232), Zen monk Monkan 文観(1278-1357), & Shingon monk
Manbei 満米 (early Heian).
25. Wakabayashi Haruko 若林晴子. 2009. Officials of the Afterworld: Ono no Takamura and the Ten Kings of Hell, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 36/2: pp. 319-342.
26. Watanabe Shōgo 渡辺章悟. 1989. Tsuizen kuyō no Hotokesama Jūsanbutsu Shinkō 追善供養の仏さま十三仏信仰 (The Buddhas of Memorial Services: Jūsanbutsu Faith). Hokushindō.
27. Watarai Zuiken 渡会瑞顕, editor. 2012. Jūsanbutsu no sekai tsuizenkuyō no rekishi・shisō・bunka 十三仏の世界— 追善供養の歴史・思想・文化 (Realm of 13 Buddhas: History, Thought, Culture).
Nonburusha.
28. Williams, Duncan Ryūken. 2008. Funerary Zen: Sōtō Zen Death Management in Tokugawa Japan, in Stone and Walter 2008, pp. 207-246.
29. Yajima Arata 矢島新. 1990. Gunma-ken ka no butsuga kara: Numatashi Shōkakuzō Jūōzu to Jyūsanbutsu Seiritsu no Mondai 群馬県下の仏面から: 沼田市正覚寺蔵十王図と十三仏成立の問題 (Ten Kings' Art
and the Origins of the Thirteen Buddhist Deities: Shōgaku-ji Temple, Numata City). Bulletin of Gunma Prefectural Women’s College 群馬県立女子大学紀要, No. 10, pp.63-73.
2.

Slide 83. MANTRAS FOR ALL THIRTEEN

Slide 83. MERITS OF WORSHIPPING THE THIRTEEN

Source: http://ameblo.jp/mangetsusai-anex/entry-11148505960.html

Source: http://www.chisan.or.jp/chisanha/answer/

1. 初七日 不動明王 正月十六日 酉年守護のうまくさんまんだ ばざらだん せんだん まかろしゃだ そわたや うんたらたかんまん
2. 二七日 釈迦如来 二月二十九日のうまくさんまんだ ぼだなん ばく3. 三七日 文殊菩薩 三月二十五日 卯年守護
おん あらはしゃのう
4. 四七日 普賢菩薩 四月十四日 辰巳年守護おん さんまや さとばん
5. 五七日 地蔵菩薩 五月二十四日
おん かかか びさんまえい そわか
6. 六七日 弥勒菩薩 六月十五日
おん ばいたれいや そわか
7. 四十九日 薬師如来 七月八日
おん ころころ せんだり まとうぎ そわか
8. 百か日 観世音菩薩 八月十八日
おん あろりきゃ そわか
9. 一周忌 勢至菩薩 九月二十三日 午年守護
おん さん ざん さく そわか
10. 三回忌 阿弥陀如来 十月十五日 戌亥年守護
おん あみりた ていぜい からうん
11. 七回忌 阿閦如来 十一月十五日
おん あきしゅびや うん
12. 十三回忌 大日如来 十一月二十八日 未申年守護
おん あびらうんけん ばざらだどばん
13. 三十三回忌 虚空蔵菩薩 十二月十三日 丑寅年守護
のうぼう あかしゃ ぎゃらばや おん ありきやまりぼり そわ

1. 初七日忌 － 不動明王
功徳－煩悩を焼き尽くし、迷いを断ち切り、信心を定めて強い力で導いてくれます2. 二七日忌 － 釈迦如来
功徳－説法によって煩悩や邪見（誤った信仰や考え方）を破り、正しい信仰に導いてくれます3. 三七日忌 － 文殊菩薩
功徳－分けへだてする愚かさを断ち、物事を正しく判断する智慧を授けてくれます
4. 四七日忌 － 普賢菩薩
功徳－悟りを求める清らかな心、そして悟りをめざした実践行に導いてくれます
5. 五七日忌 － 地蔵菩薩
功徳－あらゆるものの苦しみをうけとめ、その苦しみに負けない力を授けてくれます
6. 六七日忌 － 弥勒菩薩
功徳－すべてのものに対する慈しみの心を授けてくれます
7. 七七日忌 － 薬師如来
功徳－心身の病苦を除き、苦しみや恐れを除いてくれます
8. 百 日 忌 － 観音菩薩
功徳－世の中を広く観察し、すべての苦しみを除く、深い思いやりの心を授けてくれます
9. 一 周 忌 － 勢至菩薩
功徳－我欲、執着を滅し、とらわれを除く心を授けてくれます10. 三 回 忌 － 阿弥陀如来
功徳－生死を離れた、安らかなる心を授けてくれます11. 七 回 忌 － 阿閦如来功徳－何ごとにも揺らがない心と、怒りを離れた安らかなる心を授けてくれます
12. 十三回忌 － 大日如来
功徳－生命の尊さを知らしめ、生まれながらにそなえている
自身の清らかな心に気づかせてくれます13. 三十三回忌 － 虚空蔵菩薩
功徳－福徳と智慧を授け、生命の根源に気づかせてくれますBonus Slide. By Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849). This woodblock print originates from an Ehon 絵本 (Old Illustrated JapaneseBooks). The prints in these books are woodblock prints, similar to separately published Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 (pictures of the
non-eternal world). Ehon books are often stitched in accordion-folded pages. One of the most famous Japanese artists of Ehon and Ukiyo-e
prints is Katsushika Hokusai. This print originates from his Hokusai Manga (Hokusai's Sketches), a collection of sketches of various subjects
published from 1814 onward. For more on Japanese hell cosmology, the legends of Sai no Kawara 賽の河原 (riverbed in the netherworld),
Datsueba, and other hellish mythology, visit the A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Religious Art. █ END OF VISUAL GUIDE █