Dr. Yui Suzuki holds an M.A. in Asian Studies from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland, where she taught from 2006-2017, and also served as Director of Undergraduate Studies from 2014-17.
A scholar of ancient and early medieval Japanese Buddhist art, Dr. Suzuki’s research focuses on the mediating roles objects (both ritual and everyday) and human bodies play between the material and spiritual worlds. She is the author of Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan (Brill, 2012), as well as numerous articles. Her most recent research interests have expanded to include the material culture of demons, ghosts, and other spirit entities in both ancient and contemporary Japanese culture.
ABuddha has thirty-two remarkable attributes on his body, marks of his transcendent qualities. Ma... more ABuddha has thirty-two remarkable attributes on his body, marks of his transcendent qualities. Many scriptures state that the Buddha’s body was itself the color of gold. Another describes light emanating from his body. Artistic imagination and creativity converted such marvelous notions of the Buddha’s native aura into innovative material forms; flat disks placed behind Buddha images might be circular or oval, lancet or ogee, all intended to signify his spiritual glow. This incandescence, when represented in Buddhist images, is typically called the mandorla. Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhais ̇ ajyaguru, the Medicine or Healing Buddha), a deity extremely popular during the Heian period (794– 1185), a specific iconography became prevalent: a seated Yakushi on whose mandorla surface were an additional seven (or six) smaller seated Yakushi Buddhas (Fig. 1). Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (‘‘Seven Buddha Yakushi’’). I shall begin this paper by reexamining previous scholarship on this terminology, particularly exploring how Japanese scholars have associated a specific scripture with the iconographical origins of Shichibutsu Yakushi. In tracing the origin and development of this iconography, rather than identifying the entire statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi, it would be more useful to specifically examine its mandorla. Next, using both textual sources and extant Yakushi Buddha statues, I shall trace the history of Yakushi’s iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods, as shown by the changes in their mandorlas. Based on this evidence, I suggest there exist more variations of this iconographical feature than is commonly thought. Consequently, I propose that this particular type of mandorla, as an established iconography, is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures. Therefore this particular iconography needs to be addressed and understood within the Japanese cultural and historical context. Previous Studies on Yakushi Icons Classified as Shichibutsu Yakushi
Through analysis of sculptural representations of the Medicine Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai), this b... more Through analysis of sculptural representations of the Medicine Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai), this book offers a fresh perspective on the seminal role played by Saichō and the Tendai school in disseminating this devotional cult throughout Japan during the Heian period.
Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhaiṣajyaguru, Medicine or Healing Buddha), a ... more Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhaiṣajyaguru, Medicine or Healing Buddha), a deity extremely popular during the Heian period (794 – 1185), a specific iconography became prevalent: a seated Yakushi on whose mandorla surface were an additional (seven or six) smaller seated Yakushi Buddhas.
Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (“Seven Buddha Yakushi”). This paper traces the history of Yakushi's iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods as shown by the changes in their mandorla . I also demonstrate that this mandorla featuring six or seven seated Yakushi images is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures.
ABuddha has thirty-two remarkable attributes on his body, marks of his transcendent qualities. Ma... more ABuddha has thirty-two remarkable attributes on his body, marks of his transcendent qualities. Many scriptures state that the Buddha’s body was itself the color of gold. Another describes light emanating from his body. Artistic imagination and creativity converted such marvelous notions of the Buddha’s native aura into innovative material forms; flat disks placed behind Buddha images might be circular or oval, lancet or ogee, all intended to signify his spiritual glow. This incandescence, when represented in Buddhist images, is typically called the mandorla. Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhais ̇ ajyaguru, the Medicine or Healing Buddha), a deity extremely popular during the Heian period (794– 1185), a specific iconography became prevalent: a seated Yakushi on whose mandorla surface were an additional seven (or six) smaller seated Yakushi Buddhas (Fig. 1). Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (‘‘Seven Buddha Yakushi’’). I shall begin this paper by reexamining previous scholarship on this terminology, particularly exploring how Japanese scholars have associated a specific scripture with the iconographical origins of Shichibutsu Yakushi. In tracing the origin and development of this iconography, rather than identifying the entire statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi, it would be more useful to specifically examine its mandorla. Next, using both textual sources and extant Yakushi Buddha statues, I shall trace the history of Yakushi’s iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods, as shown by the changes in their mandorlas. Based on this evidence, I suggest there exist more variations of this iconographical feature than is commonly thought. Consequently, I propose that this particular type of mandorla, as an established iconography, is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures. Therefore this particular iconography needs to be addressed and understood within the Japanese cultural and historical context. Previous Studies on Yakushi Icons Classified as Shichibutsu Yakushi
Through analysis of sculptural representations of the Medicine Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai), this b... more Through analysis of sculptural representations of the Medicine Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai), this book offers a fresh perspective on the seminal role played by Saichō and the Tendai school in disseminating this devotional cult throughout Japan during the Heian period.
Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhaiṣajyaguru, Medicine or Healing Buddha), a ... more Among the seated statues of the Buddha Yakushi (S: Bhaiṣajyaguru, Medicine or Healing Buddha), a deity extremely popular during the Heian period (794 – 1185), a specific iconography became prevalent: a seated Yakushi on whose mandorla surface were an additional (seven or six) smaller seated Yakushi Buddhas.
Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (“Seven Buddha Yakushi”). This paper traces the history of Yakushi's iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods as shown by the changes in their mandorla . I also demonstrate that this mandorla featuring six or seven seated Yakushi images is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures.
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Papers by Yui Suzuki
Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (“Seven Buddha Yakushi”). This paper traces the history of Yakushi's iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods as shown by the changes in their mandorla . I also demonstrate that this mandorla featuring six or seven seated Yakushi images is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures.
Modern Japanese scholars often describe this type of Yakushi statue as a Shichibutsu Yakushi (“Seven Buddha Yakushi”). This paper traces the history of Yakushi's iconographical transformations during the Nara and Heian periods as shown by the changes in their mandorla . I also demonstrate that this mandorla featuring six or seven seated Yakushi images is distinctive to Japan, even though the concept and images of the deity were pervasive throughout East Asian cultures.