Buddhist Images (Butsuzo)
The term "Buddhist images" refers mainly to images of the Historical Buddha or one of the many other anthropomorphic entities of Buddhist tradition. Usually the term refers to sculptures and does not include Buddhist paintings. The original meaning of a Buddhist image was an image of the historical founder of the Buddhist faith, Prince Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Sakyamuni, or Shaka in Japan), who lived in Nepal and northern India in the 5th century B.C. But as Hinayana ("lesser vehicle") Buddhism - also called Theravada ("doctrine of the elders") Buddhism - developed into Mahayana ("great vehicle") Buddhism, images of bodhisattvas and many other types of Buddhist images proliferated and became objects of devotion.
With the 9th-century popularization of Esoteric Buddhism as a branch of the Mahayana tradition, many fear-inspiring images of myoo (Sanskrit: vidyaraja, "kings of light or wisdom") were produced, and with the addition of deities from outside of Buddhism proper, images of tembu (deva kings) and kishin (diabolic gods) were added and Buddhist images became even more diversified. A number of very strange types of Buddhist images appeared, including representations with multiple faces and/or multiple arms. Portrait sculptures of famous monks and of rakan (Sanskrit: arhat), disciples of the Buddha, are also included among Buddhist images.
There are said to be 32 bodily signs (sanjuniso) proper to Buddhas (including the Historical Buddha) and to bodhisattvas (highly enlightened beings who postpone buddhahood to help mankind). Otherwise these beings, in Buddhist iconography, have generally human-like features. Some of the 32 signs are snail-coil hair (rahotsu), additional eyes (byakugo), 3-layered necks, extremely large ear-lobes, and web-like accretions between the fingers.
