Reconsidering the Kōmyō honzon Scrolls of Myōgenji Temple: Kōmyo honzon or Shinshū Mandara?

Abstract

As one form of media for propagating Shinshū teaching, Shinran created visual materials called Kōmyō honzon. The Kōmyō honzon contains three parts: Amida Buddha’s name, images of the buddhas, and words of the scriptures. The term Kōmyō honzon was first defined in the Benjutsu myōtaishō and was popularized after the publication of the Shinshū jūhō shūei in 1987. The basic definition of the composition of Kōmyō honzon is that it contains three forms of Amida Buddha’s name and portraits of Śākyamuni and Amida within a single scroll.

The Myōgenji Temple in Aichi prefecture possesses a set of three hanging scrolls which is considered to be only remaining example of a Kōmyō honzon composed in Shinran’s lifetime. The middle scroll contains the nine-character Name of Amida Buddha emitting ninety-one rays of light. On the scroll on the left are portraits of the Indian and Chinese masters; on the scroll on the right are images of Prince Shotoku and Japanese masters. There are, however, no images of the two Buddhas.

It is clear that the set of scrolls of Myōgenji Temple does not fit the definition of Kōmyō honzon as described in the Benjutsu myōtaishō. Instead of classifying this set of scrolls under the category of Kōmyō honzon, in this paper I suggest that it is more accurate to identify them as Shinshū Mandara.