神護寺薬師如来像の位相―平安時代初期の山と薬師―

Previous studies of the standing image of Yakushi (the Healing Buddha) at Jingoji have regarded this image as having previously belonged to Shinganji, and thus have tended to interpret the image based on this idea. However, investigation of the kanpu (a governmental edict) which states that the danjō (platform for Esoteric Buddhist rituals) was transferred from Shinganji to Takaosanji (the temple at Mount Takao that preceded Jingoji) in Tenchō 1 (824) shows that the temple itself was not moved. Furthermore, the reason for transfer of the danjō was that Shinganji was defiled, and there is thus little possibility that temple's image was transferred to Takaosanji. On the other hand, during the early period of Takaosanji, in Enryaku 21 (802) Wake no Hiroyo held a lecture meeting on the Lotus Sutra (Hokke kō-e) to which fourteen monks, including Saichō, and monks of the Sanron and Hossō sect were invited. It is recognized that the ostensible goal of this Lotus Sutra lecture meeting was to hold a memorial service for Wake no Hiromushi, but it is possible also to discover evidence of larger national intentions at work. The Shōryōshū and other documents record that images of Yakushi were the main images used in such Lotus Sutra lecture meetings, and at the time of this meeting it is possible that there was an image of Yakushi at Takaosanji. As far as the relationship of Jingoji to Yakushi is concerned, first, in Jōwa 4 (837) at such temples as Jingoji, Enryakuji, Yakushi keka (a ritual of repentance) were held. In Jowa 3 (836) it was decided that at the “seven tall mountains” (shichikōsan) there would be held Yakushi keka, and Mount Atago, near where Jingoji is located and Mount Hiei are included among these. We can gather then, that during the Jōwa years, both Jingoji and Enryakuji held the positions as temples at which Yakushi keka were practiced. The fact that six of the “seven tall mountains” are located along the border of Yamashiro province suggests an analogical connection between the Yakushi keka and provincial border areas. Imperial edicts dated Jōwa 1 (834) and Jōwa 9 (842) indicate a relationship between Yakushi keka and boundary protection rituals. Moreover, four of the “seven tall mountains” are closely connected to sites among the ten Kinai (home provinces) sites of rituals to appease epidemic-producing gods listed in the Engishiki. The Engishiki lists ten places on the border of the Kinai region that were the sites of rituals to appease epidemic-producing gods. Four of the “seven tall mountains” are near these sites. One other mountain not included in the Engishiki was the site of a similar type of ritual. In this regard the site of the practice of Yakushi keka was related to a view of physical boundaries based on the concept of a space whose purpose was the protection of the country from epidemic-producing gods. This highlights the special function of Enryakuji and Jingoji as temples which protected the Heian capital on its eastern and western borders. Considering all the above conditions together, it is possible to conclude that the image of Yakushi at Jingoji was produced as the main image of the Kompondō Hall of Takaosanji during its early period after the transfer of the capital to Heian in 794 but before 802. Furthermore, it is possible that Murōji, which served a similar function as a site for anti-epidemic rituals, and also has a Yakushi as its principal image, carried an import related to the spatial conception of Enryakuji and jingoji. Given that the images of Yakushi in Jingoji, Enryakuji, and Murēji are all enshrined in the Kompondō Hall of each temple, it can be further conjectured that as principal images of Yakushi keka the three images were related to each other. Among the special characteristics of the visual form of the image of Yakushi at Jingoji, there is a clear opposition between the non-human straight and motionless body and the stern expression of the face, which togerther give rise to a dissimilation (ika koka). Placing the Jingoji image in its context as the principal image of the Yakushi keka, it has the abstract form suitable for a yorishiro, or receptacle in which the Buddha could reside in the bushō stage of the ritual at which point the Buddha is besought by worshippers. In addition the image's stern expression has the power to stir the hearts of keka practioners seated before it. In other words, considering the “form” of the image of the Jingoji Yakushi, it can be placed as a classic example of an image which at the same time is determined according to its physical setting, and has the power to change or work on that setting as well.