Gender in Japanese Buddhism: Images of Kannon

I haven't posted on here for a while...  Would you like to read a not-too-long, but incredibly genius paper?  It's mine... so I warn you I might've gone a bit overboard on the 'genius' part... but I'm very, very proud of my baby.  I read a lot of primary sources for this (alas, I did not get a chance to cite them, as my paper would be too long for the class requirement), and also did a bit of original research.

I wish there was an easier way to post documents... damn you internet for failing me this one time. 

Gender in Japanese Buddhism: Images of Kannon

Introduction

Medieval Japanese society viewed women as a negative product of their biological and spiritual pollution, yet their female Buddhist deities are viewed as unambiguously positive. In order to become enlightened females had to transcend their female characteristics and become male (Pandey 325). This sexual transformation is ostensible in figures of the Bodhisattva Kannon, who was generally perceived as a female bodhisattva, but often retained male characteristics (Faure 360).

Women in Japanese Buddhism
Buddhism in Japan was not easily accessible or incredibly tolerant of women. In order to be ordained as a nun women had to follow the Eight Strict Rules, which made them subordinate to all monks, regardless of their own rank (Faure 23). Subservience was a common factor in all relationships to women in Japan – in childhood they must be subservient to their parents, then to their husbands, and then to their sons after the death of their husbands (Faure 62). Also, Buddha hood was believed to be impossible for a woman to reach unless she was first reborn as a man (Pandey 325).
In both Shinto (Japan’s native religion) and Buddhist beliefs women were seen as impure due to taboos concerning menstruation and childbirth. The vile product of these events, blood, was considered to pollute the earth and anger the earth god. It was even believed that women who died in childbirth (a horrible taboo of both blood and death) would be sent to a level in Buddhist hell where they would forever swim in the menstruation of women (Faure 69). These taboos concerning women and their impurity did not allow for women to enter many temples. Most of the temples they were allowed to enter were dedicated to Kannon (Faure 237).
However, women were not completely seen in a negative light. In the collection of stories titled Kankyo no Tomo (A Companion in Solitude), written by a monk by the name of Keisei in 1222, several women are shown in a moral light and used as examples for Buddhist women. These women triumphed over what were called the Seven Vices of Women (they arouse men, are jealous, deceitful, vain, attached, have uncontrolled desire, and are the source of foul events like menstruation, pregnancy, and child birth). Paired with the Seven Vices were the Five Obstructions of rebirth for women – they could not be reborn as Brahma, Sakra, Mara, a cakravartin, or a Buddha (Pandey 326). These moral tales by Keisei often tell of women who triumph over their innate obstacles in order to aid men in reaching enlightenment. In one tale, a well-respected monk falls for a beautiful woman. In order to cure his delusion she removes her make-up, slathers her clothing in blood, and paints her body in order to create the illusion that her body is rotting. The monk then thanks the woman for alerting him to the illusion of appearances and becomes enlightened (Pandey 326-9). However, the duality implied by these vices and obstructions, which create gender difference, are against Buddhist doctrine, which would state that these are not innate qualities, as all states are illusionary and arbitrary.
Women were also seen as a positive force in Buddhism in the form of “Jade Women”. These women performed similar duties to the woman mentioned in the Kankyo no Tomo above. They transmitted the sexual desire of men in order to allow them to be reborn into the Pure Land. Kannon was often depicted as a “Jade Woman” who would come to monks in their dreams. This is often seen as part of the bodhisattva Kannon’s vow to save all beings (Faure 205-7).
The Bodhisattva Kannon and the Lotus Sutra

Kannon is the Japanese bodhisattva of compassion and mercy and is intrinsically tied up with the Amida Buddha and the idea of the Pure Land (Edmonds). The Bodhisattva Kannon appears in the 25th chapter of the popular Lotus Sutra. In this chapter it shows her thirty-three transformations that she undergoes in order to save all sentient beings – this is Kannon’s pledge. If one simply recites the name of Kannon they will be saved from the seven misfortunes (fire, flood, wind, weapons, demons, punishments, and thieves) as well as the three poisons (greed, anger, and ignorance) (Tanabe 1989).
She is also well known for her ability to remove obstacles, and was thusly revered by women for she had the ability to remove the five obstacles that kept women from attaining enlightenment (Faure 66). As mentioned above she was also seen as a “Jade Woman” who would satisfy the sexual desires of monks in order to aid them in attaining enlightenment. This would either happen in their dreams, or in the form of a woman or young boy seen as an avatar of Kannon that would have preformed sexual acts upon them (Faure 205-7).

Gender Depicted in Images of Kannon
The common forms of Kannon that are depicted are the eleven-headed Kannon, 1000-armed Kannon, white-robed Kannon, true form Kannon, and the Nyoirin Kannon. The white-robed cannon is the form most often connected to the feminine. Kannon can often be identified as having the Amida Buddha in her crown (Edmonds).
Kannon is often described as female, however images of her often retain many male characteristics. This may be due to the fact that it was believed that a woman had to go through a sexual change and attain a male-like body in order to achieve enlightenment. Thusly, maleness is a prerequisite for enlightenment (Pandey 325).

 

From Pale, Little Thing

Fig. 1 Nyoirin Kannon, ca. 1250-1330, wood with lacquer and gilding, Art Institute of Chicago.  Photo courtesy of the author.

Fig. 2 Nyoirin Kannon, early 9th Century, colored wood, University of California San Diego.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

Fig. 3 Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the Form of Chintamanichakra (Nyoirin Kannon), early 14th Century, Cypress wood with pigment, gold powder, and cut gold leaf, Asia Society Museum.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

Nyoirin Kannons are one of the most common images of Kannon (fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3). The Nyoirin Kannon is named for the magical, wish-granting jewel she holds in her hand (Bogel 30). In figure 1 the jewel was lost. The figure appears feminine in her face, delicate fingers, and hair. However, the chest is quite flat and masculine. A similar aesthetic can be seen in the Nyoirin Kannon of figure 3. However, this Kannon points upward, perhaps identifying the Buddha and his teachings as the true jewel of Buddhism. The Nyoirin Kannon in figure 2 displays more feminine traits and is one of the earliest images of Kannon. The feminine qualities can be best seen in the figure’s eyes, which seem to linger between sensuality and a realm beyond it. This is most likely due to the fact that it is an esoteric Buddhist image, and embodies the mysterious ideals of several esoteric sects in Japan (Bogel 34). The multiple arms in the case of the Nyoirin Kannon are used in order to convey all of Kannon’s specific attributes and mudras. Her aspects include the wheel, a pink lotus, the jewel, and a rosary (Getty 55).

Fig. 4 Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, 14th Century, Japanese cypress with gold and inlaid crystal, Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

Fig. 5 1001 Images of Thousand-armed Kannon, ca 1173-1256, lacquer, gold leaf over wood, Sanjusangen-do, Rengeo-in, Kyoto.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

The arms in the 1000-armed Kannon (fig. 5) are used in order to convey her ability to aid and save all living beings, as stated in the Lotus Sutra. In order to do this she would of course need many arms (Getty 55). The figures in figure 5 convey a large amount of femininity in their alluring body proportions and posture. The bodily proportions of these figures are reminiscent of Indian Yakshini figures, which represent fertility. They also appear to have slight breasts and incredibly feminine faces. These same qualities can be seen in the true from Kannon in figure 4.

Fig. 6 White-Robed Kannon (Byaku-e Kannon) (detail), early 15th Century, ink on silk, Asia Society Museum.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

Fig. 7 Suigetsu Kannon (White-Robed Kannon) (detail), 17th Century, ink and colors on silk, Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

Figure 6 and figure 7 are details from examples of white-robed Kannons. The white robed Kannon is believed to represent Kannon’s paradise, one of the many different pure lands that existed in Pure Land Buddhism (Ford 35). Both examples show feminine figures, however figure 6 seems much more feminine and elderly. They both have a floral tattoo on their chests, however figure 5’s appears much more abstracted and looks almost like chest hair. Even though these images are still slightly androgynous, they present much more obviously feminine qualities.

Fig. 8 Kannon the Merciful Mother, Kano Hogai, 1888, silk and pigment, Tokyo National Museum of Fine Arts and Music.  Photo courtesy of ARTstor.

The images examined of Kannon appear to form a trend of feminizing the bodhisattva over time in Japan. This trend can be seen continuing on into later images of Kannon, even on into the 19th century in Kannon the Merciful Mother (fig. 8). This image is both feminine in the physical depiction of the bodhisattva, as well as her nurturing and motherly aspects that are alluded to in the image.

Conclusion

The overt maleness seen in images of the Kannon is a reflection of the Japanese society that crafted them. Buddhist women in Japan needed to overcome several supposed obstacles of femininity to even consider becoming serious members of the Buddhist faith – even then it was not believed possible for most women to reach Buddha hood or become a bodhisattva. Regardless of this Kannon was perceived as a female bodhisattva and became one of the most venerated of all the bodhisattvas in Japan. The rising popularity and feminizing of the bodhisattva Kannon may have lead to the gradual acceptance, and even admiration, of many female Buddhist figures and sanghas in Japan.

Works Cited

Bogel, Cynthea J. "Canonizing Kannon: The Ninth-Century Esoteric Buddhist Altar at Kanshinji." The Art Bulletin 84 (2002): 30-64.

Edmonds, Richard Louis et al. "Japan." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 18 Nov. 2008.

Faure, Bernard. The Power of Denial - Buddhism, Purity, and Gender. New York: Princeton UP, 2003.

Ford, Barbara B. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 45 (1987): 4-56.

Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1962.

Pandey, Rajyashree. "Women, Sexuality, and Enlightenment: Kankyo no Tomo." Monumenta Nipponica 50 (1995): 325-56.

Tanabe, George J., and Willa J. Tanabe, eds. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. University Of Hawaii P, 1989.

Watson, Burton, trans. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia UP, 1993.

Well... that was a pain and a half to fix up to post.  I hope if anyone reads it, they enjoyed it thoroughly.  Also, if you have any constructive critiques I'd be more than glad to hear them, as I plan on fixing this paper up to make it longer and lovelier.  I intend to make this a major piece of my undergraduate portfolio.

Also... please do not steal my work, as it will sadden me.