Dainichi Nyorai

12th century

Dainichi Nyorai, or the Great Sun Buddha, is the central deity of Mikkyo, a form of Buddhism in Japan. Playing the role of explaining Buddhist teachings, Dainichi differs from other Buddhas in that he is represented in the form of a bodhisattva with jewelry and a crown. His hands form the bodhyagri mudra, with the clenched right hand posed over the extended index finger of the left hand. In Mikkyo, the left and right hands represent sentient beings and Buddhas, respectively, and this mudra is generally interpreted as symbolizing the unity of the two, although various interpretations exist.

Wood with traces of polychrome

35 1/8 x 26 9/16 x 16 7/16 in. (89.2 x 67.5 x 41.7 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection "Gift to a City: Masterworks From the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum," Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, no. 106.

35.70

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Japanese Art In The Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1960.

Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum, Nov. 3 - 28, 1965.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Thousand Cranes: Treasures Of Japanese Art, Feb. 5 - July 12, 1987.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Spring and Summer in Japan, Feb. 28, 2002 - Oct. 13, 2002.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Fall and Winter in Japan, Oct. 22, 2002 - Feb. 23, 2003.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Discovering Buddhist Art - Seeking the Sublime, July 9, 2003 - June 3, 2005.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesLee, S., Japanese Art at Seattle, Oriental Art, II, no. 3, p. 91, fig. 6, p. 93, Winter 1949 - 1950

Fuller, Richard E., Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 35

Saunders, E.D., Murda, 1960, pl. XIV

Gift to a City, exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 106

Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, 1968, p. 414

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, A Thousand Cranes: Treasures of Japanese Art, co published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California, 1987, ill. p. 33

Exploratorium Quarterly, Fall, 1988, vol. 12, issue 3, p. 21

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