Bronze Mirror of Zaō Gongen
Bronze Mirror of Zaō Gongen
Mirror with Engraved Design of the Buddhist Deity Zaō Gongen
1000 – 1199 CE
Bronze with copper alloy
9.75 in x 9.75 in
Japan, Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture
1978.001
The creation and burial of bronze mirrors was an important devotional Buddhist practice of the Western Japanese mountain region of Kinpusen, known as “The Peak of Gold.”1 The culture of the Heian period (1000-1199 CE) emphasized the beauty and ritual value of objects; mirrors were no exception.2 Bronze mirrors were often used as a medium to communicate with unseen beings.3 As such, bronze mirrors had a variety of ritual functions. One such function is as mishotai, icons which represent hybrid deities such as Zaō Gongen.4 Zaō Gongen, engraved on this bronze mirror, was a local deity of the Kinpusen mountain pantheon, a hierarchical collective of Buddhist deities. Kinpusen was a pilgrimage site for Buddhist practice, and its pantheon combined aspects of indigenous, Buddhist, and Daoist religious traditions. This later extended to the Japanese tradition of Shugendō, specifically dedicated to secluded devotional practices in the mountains.5 Zaō Gongen is said to have sprung from a rock at Kinpusen and revealed himself to En no Gyōja, the founder of the localized mountain cult.6 He was also associated with the honji suijaku discourse, which articulated the different Buddhist theological entities: kami, buddhas, and bodhisattvas.7 In the honji suijaku system, Kami were manifestations of either buddhas (enlightened beings) or (bodhisattvas) those on their way to enlightenment.
Zaō Gongen served as a metamorphic, hybrid deity who transcended and shifted between the divine realms of kami and bodhisattva. The word Gongen describes Zaō’s ability to shift between these realms. For example, religious studies scholar Heather Blair writes that Zaō was a manifestation of Maitreya, the buddha of the future, and Śākyamuni, the buddha of the past, articulating his unique metamorphic capacity.8 The special synthesis of traditions and the hybridity of Zaō Gongen contributed to the loyal cult following of the Kinpusen devotional practice.
Mishotai of Zaō were placed both inside and outside the Zaō hall in Kinpusen. Those inside the hall were meant to reflect Zaō’s Buddhist identity as Maitreya to viewers, while those outside were used to inform pilgrims of Zaō’s presence.9 Pilgrims would bury their own bronze mirrors depicting Zaō as offerings in sutra mounds, alongside vows dedicated to the deity.10 These dedications served as a form of spiritual currency and were used to accumulate merit for the afterlife. Such practices typically had offerings that resembled the recipient deity and aimed to create accurate depictions of Zaō.11 Though the fluidity of Zaō’s spiritual nature causes much variation in his depictions, such mirrors generally illustrated him with a wrathful expression and hair standing up in spikes. He is also usually pictured with his arm raised and holding a vajra, a thunderbolt symbolizing power and authority, in his hand.12
In addition to serving as offerings, bronze mirrors depicting deities were often used as ritual objects and reflected the images of sacred figures during worship. The literal reflections of hybrid gods at sacred sites symbolizes the reflective relationship of kami and buddha manifested through gongen.13 The mirrors were believed to be imbued with the power of the incised deity and were used in various rituals, including purification rites, divination, and exorcism.14 All of these rituals interpret a mirror’s ability to reflect in their own way, introducing a multitude of uses. In purification rites, bronze mirrors were used to reflect the light of candles and to purify the worshippers’ bodies and minds. In divination, bronze mirrors were used to reflect the future, and in exorcism, they were used to ward off evil spirits. It is important to note that in each ritual, the mirror is either used to reflect the truth or purest form of its viewer. The devotional role of incised bronze mirrors in revering Buddhist deities highlights the significance of art for ritual in Asia. Crafting images of religious beings was a devotional practice in itself, but artworks also served as vehicles for specific modes of worship. Art such as this Zaō Gongen mirror grounded the spiritual into a physical form that was used for veneration and reflection of divine beings and concepts.
Dani Cumming
Economics
Class of 2025
Jeeva Venkat
Chemistry
Class of 2023
Annotated Bibliography
Blair, Heather Elizabeth. “Chapter Two: The Local Pantheon.” In Real and Imagined: the Peak of Gold in Heian Japan, 60-97. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2015.
Chapter two of Blair’s book presents Zaō Gongen as the main Buddhist deity of the Kinpusen mountain pantheon. She explains the honji suijaku tradition to describe the Buddhist theological categories of kami, buddha, and bodhisattva and position Zaō Gongen as a hybrid deity who embodies all. Blair also includes details about the devotional practices, such as the burial of sutras and bronze mirrors, carried out in pilgrimages to Kinpusen. The information in Blair’s book is helpful in contextualizing the image of Zaō Gongen on the mirror. Learning that Zaō was a deity with unique metamorphic capabilities is important to understand the mirror’s significance as a devotional artwork.
Blair, Heather Elizabeth. “Zaō Gongen: From Mountain Icon to National Treasure.” Monumenta Nipponica 66, no. 1 (2011): 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1353/mni.2011.0008
The article explores the development of the Japanese mountain deity Zaō Gongen’s. It discusses the historical and cultural significance of Zaō Gongen as a symbol of the connection between the natural world and human society in Japan. The article also examines the ways in which Zaō Gongen has been represented in art and literature over time. It highlights his role in shaping Japanese national identity as well. The article concludes by emphasizing Zaō Gongen as a symbol of Japanese culture and spirituality. Throughout the article, Blair relates the information about Zaō Gongen back to the Sōjiji bronze mirror located in the Tokyo National Museum. The details of this mirror’s ritual use was especially useful in determining what our mirror’s ritual use could and could not have been.
Buswell, Robert E., Jr, and Donald S. Lopez, Jr. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001.
Buswell and Lopez’s dictionary defines and contextualizes words, deities, people, and concepts associated with multiple Buddhist traditions. The book also includes a list of historical Asian periods, a timeline of Buddhism, and regional maps. The dictionary helps define Buddhist and Japanese terms included in Blair’s book and contains contextual detail necessary for understanding her text.
MacGregor, Neil. A History of the World in 100 Objects. New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2011.
This section of MacGregor’s project describes a Japanese bronze mirror from the British Museum that dates back to the 3rd or 4th century CE. It highlights the mirror’s intricate design and the high level of craftsmanship involved in its production. The article also provides historical context about the mirror’s use in religious ceremonies and its significance in ancient Japanese culture. The article served as an introduction to Japanese bronze mirrors before reading Blair’s more dense article on the Sōjiji bronze mirror.