Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)

Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)

Takuma Tametō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This page depicts the Bodhisattva of Moon-Radiance (Gakkō Bosatsu). It comes from a book of iconographic drawings representing the vast array of Buddhas and bodhisattvas depicted in the Diamond World (Kongōkai) and Womb World (Taizōkai) Mandalas. His primary name is inscribed in the upper right and his “secret name,” Kiyohara Kongō, in the upper left. The deity’s “seed syllables” (shuji), tiny Sanskrit characters that signify his nature and function, appear at the bottom right along with Chinese characters to aid in their pronunciation and interpretation. At the bodhisattva’s right knee is an explanation of where he appears in the mandala.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)Gakkō Bosatsu, from “Album of Buddhist Deities from the Diamond World and Womb World Mandalas” (“Kontai butsugajō”)

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.