Title: Shingon Hoshi Mandara (The Shingon School Star Mandala), Circa 1500-1600. An Extraordinarily Rare Astrology Painting, used in Shingon and Tendai Rituals to Prevent Disasters and Fortune Telling, With 57 Small Medallion Paintings
Condition: Good
A Late Muromachi Period, 16th century painting of the Hoshi Mandara, also known as the Star Mandala, an extremely rare and surviving example of astrological art, used in Shingon and Tendai rituals to prevent disasters and fortune telling. This is the Shingon Mandala, noted for having square stars/rings, as opposed to circular stars/rings.
Going back as far the Heian period, mandalas such as these have played a significant role in the rituals of the Shingon and Tendai schools of Buddhism since the Heian, inheriting the mandala art form by monks who traveled to China, as well as other practices including mantras, mudras, meditation techniques, and more. The Star Mandala, however, is one unique to Japan, in regard to rituals relating to stellar deities, which were also incorporated into the pantheons of these Buddhist schools.
Star worship was not as prevalent in ritual or Buddhist practices in Japan as opposed to China, so surviving mandalas such as these showcase a more ancient astrological practice tying into Buddhist beliefs and art. However, the central iconography was certainly influenced by the Tejaprabha Buddha of the Tang Dynasty, which was introduced to Japan sometime during the Early Heian Period.
In this Mandala, we see the central Buddha (Represented as Ichiji Kinrin or the Buddha Shakyamuni), surrounded by square rings representing stars, within which are both peaceful and wrathful deities. Inside each circular star or medallion is an image of a person or an animal.
Below the Buddha, there are seven medallions shaped like an "S" turned on its side, or a scoop. Inside each medallion is a figure wearing a headdress like a god. These are the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, the most important stars in the Star Mandala. They are shaped like this to represent the constellation of the big dipper. As for the other nine figures within the central section, they are the Nine Luminaries, deriving from earlier Chinese personification of stellar deities but also blending with Indian Hindu iconography. As would be indicated by the title, the Luminaries represent the celestial bodies such as Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and the Sun and Moon.
Following this, the green, inner square ring has 12 medallions representing the 12 months and zodiac signs, with a bull for Taurus, a crab for Cancer, and a scorpion for Scorpio.
Lastly, the outermost ring contains 28 medallions representing the various phases of the moon, which were also important in providing greater precision to predictions of the fortunes of believers.
This example is extremely similar in quality and make to Lot 64 sold at the Galerie Zacke sale of June 16, 2023.
The painting has been neatly mounted onto a brocade decorated kakejiku (hanging scroll), with jikusaki (knobs) made of lacquered wood. There is a wooden box to accompany it, preserving the scroll.
One painting mounted on a kakejiku (hanging scroll), 162 x 67 cm full size, 86 x 52.5 cm main painting
This painting is in good shape, with some wear and creasing to the painting, with several cracks forming in places, and a bit of the paint having flaked to several smaller medallions. Due to the detail and quantity of illustrations, conservation work is advised to maintain this current condition.