(1) Mandalas, 2-D interpretations of Buddhist sutras have been part of Japanese tradition for thousands of years. In 1061 Phoenix Hall in Uji, Byodoin, Japan was consecrated as a veneration of “The Visualization Sutra” Buddha Amitabha. This 3-D offering, an architectural piece was financed by Fujiwara no Yorimichi, a politically influential aristocrat and lover of the arts who has been credited with the unique idea and design. It was known to have been compared to Sukhdvati (the pure land of Amitabha) by guests.
Scholars have compared it to traditional temples Earlier temples were much simpler, square with pyramidal roof or rectangular with a hip-and-gable roof. Phoenix Hall has a bird-like appearance, hence the name, because the main hall can be seen as the body and the two symmetrical long galleries at either side as the bird’s wings. Added is the sensation of five roofs that seem ready to float up into the sky.
The Temple was situated in an artificial lake in wetlands and on the bank of the Uji River. The lake surface perfectly reflects the temple. The sutra being “visual and visionary” mirrors the temple which is visually beautiful, symmetrical and constructed in a new, perhaps even visionary way. Some of the balance comes from design structures that have no other purpose but to provide harmony in the interior space (such as a partial upper story). Privacy and inaccessibility to strangers is provided by the grounds of the compound as well as the layers of hallways and galleries which the family knew well.
Structural innovations have been studied thoroughly. Replicating other temples was not common yet two others men did so. Some speculate that it was a type of power play or grudging respect by an enemy.
(2) The copies were built intentionally by an emperor and a warlord. Ms Yiengpruksawan has offered a thoughtful, succinct theory of why two such different men did this.
She unties a female thread. Buddha Amitabha’s Visualization Sutra teaches Lady Vaidehi how to leave the world of suffering and reach rebirth into a “pure land.”
Yorimichi’s second daughter, Kanshi became Empress but was often at home in Uji. She was in charge of Phoenix Hall’s Lotus Ceremony (1118), invited important women to the Temple and conducted memorial ceremonies and devotions there after her father’s death (1127). She offered Lotus Sutra Lectures, poetry contests and especially the elaborate annual consecration services.
Scholars have noted aristocrats rarely visited, but Ms Yiengpruksawan explains this was not a temple for them but a private worship area for women and family.
The first copy, Shakamyoin, “The Hall of Victorious Radiance” was built at Toba Palace in Uji on the Kamo River (1136). It was built close to the main residence of the Emperor Toba who married the great-greatgranddaughter of Yorimichi, Taishi. Taishi’s father Tadazane was a close friend of Toba. Particular care was taken to reproduce exact the measurements.
The second copy was built near a private residence on the Kitakami River and called Muryokoin, “Hall of Immeasurable Light” (1187). Fujiwara no Hidehiro, the owner was a a warlord married to more sophisticated Kyoto woman. Construction began when she started living there. She may have along with her father, helped build Muryokoin; certainly her husband knew of Phoenix Hall’s familial and spiritual significance.
Ms Yiengpruksawan convincingly argues that this was a woman’s construction, a place to offer safety, refuge and comfort to her family. Women knowing of the frightening events such as the epidemic were a strong influence on the design and use of all three palaces.
(3) I would ask her to point out examples of where a feminine perspective on the design and detail of Phoenix Hall sets it apart from traditional temples.
Work Cited
Yiengpruksawan, Mimi Hall, “The Phoenix Hall at Uji and the Symmetries of Replication,” The Art Bulletin. (77):4/ 647 - 672. College Art Association. Dec, 1995. Web. 23 Aug. 2011.
