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How did the honji-suijaku system connect Buddhist deities with Shinto gods in Japanese art?
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Japanese art
The Breaking Wave off Kanagawa, woodblock colour print by Hokusai, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, 1826–33.
The honji-suijaku system was a foundational religious concept that facilitated the integration of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan. Under this framework, indigenous Japanese kami were reinterpreted as the "manifest traces" (suijaku) of an "original substance" (honji), which were identified as buddhas or bodhisattvas.12
In the context of Japanese visual arts, this syncretism manifested in several ways:
- Iconography: Religious paintings frequently depicted both Buddhist and Shinto figures together, often arranged in mandala-like formats to emphasize their shared spiritual identity.2
- Landscape Integration: Buddhist paintings of the honji-suijaku type often incorporated Shinto sacred sites into their landscapes, visually linking the natural environment with Buddhist divinity.2
- Anthropomorphic Representation: While Shinto traditionally lacked iconic imagery, the influence of Buddhist iconography helped give form to kami, leading to the creation of shinzō—paintings or sculptures representing these deities.34
- Sacred Sites: Certain icons, such as those depicting the Nachi Falls, utilized Buddhist painting techniques to reveal the sacredness of specific Shinto sites, effectively blending the two religious traditions within a single visual space.2