Bonten Bonden Brahma

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Bonten　梵天


He is often seen together with Taishaku Ten as a protector of the Land Japan.


Chi-ten　地天 God of the Land


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kigo for the New Year

Bonten matsuri 梵天祭 (ぼんてんまつり) Bonten festival
梵天（ぼんてん）Bonten
梵天奉納祭（ぼんてんほうのうさい）Bonten hoonoosai





SAIJIKI – THE NEW YEAR


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. Bondeko ぼんでこ fertility stick .
a toy from Akita
bontenko ぼんてんこ Bonten-ko


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ぼんでん　秋田 Bonden Festival in Akita
梵天祭り



Teams of young men race to the shrine Taiheizan Miyoshi 太平山三吉神社 carrying bonten (or bonden in the local dialect).
Bonden are sacred symbols of masculinity, 3m (10ft) long, and colourfully decorated with the animal symbol of the year.
The race is to be the first team to dedicate their bonden at the shrine and pray for a prosperous year.
. . Reference



CLICK here for BONDEN haiku and photos
from Hiruta Hidenori sensei, Akita
Akita International Haiku Network



source : akitahaiku BLOG . Hiruta Hidenori


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quote
Heaven Deva; Skt. = Brahmā or Sikhin;
guards the upward direction; Hindi deity who created the universe, with four heads for overlooking each of the four directions (although often shown with only one).
Also known as the universal soul, in contrast to the individual soul (atman). Bonten’s “vahana” is the wild goose.

Four infinite virtues are attached to Bonten:
(1) give others happiness;
(2) remove their suffering;
(3) help them see, thus freeing them from desire;
(4) help them abandon attachment to love and hate to become impartial to all.

One can attain rebirth in the Brahma Heaven, it is said, by practising these virtues. Bonten lives in the first of four meditation heavens, in the world of form, above Mount Sumeru; said to rule the “saha” (Sanskrit word for endurance and for the world of suffering); people in the saha world endure many sufferings caused by desire and three poisons -- greed, anger and foolishness.
source : Japanese Buddhist Statuary
Mark Schumacher


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Bonten (Baramonten; Brahma)

BON bedeutet: Ablösung von allen Wünschen und Erlangen eines reinen Herzens.
Brachte den erleuchteten Shakyamuni dazu, seine Lehre zu verbreiten. Seit dem 8. Jhd. zusammen mit Taishakuten in Japan als Schützer des Buddhismus und des Staates verehrt.
Wenn Bonten erzürnt, gerät der Staat in Unordnung und Rebellionen und Epidemien verbreiten sich, das Wetter wird schlecht und Blumen und Bäume vertrocknen.
Nimmt die höchste Stelle innerhalb der Ten ein.
Bruder des Nioo; oft zusammen mit Taishaku abgebildet.

Ikonografie:
Hoher Haarknoten. Vier Köpfe, drei an den Seiten und einen über dem Hauptgesicht. Jedes Gesicht hat drei Augen.
Gewand mit langen Ärmeln über einer chinesischen Rüstung; wenn mit Taishakuten zusammen, trägt Bonten keine Rüstung.
Im esoterischen Buddhismus mit vier Köpfen und vier Armen, auf einem Lotussockel auf einer Gans reitend. Hält Stab der Lehre, Lotusblüte und Wedel in den Händen.

. Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who 　
Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie
von japanischen Buddhastatuen

Gabi Greve


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The old reading for BONTEN 梵天 .. HOTE　ほて .. might has then developed with the Chinese characters it is written nowadays. The grass Bonten effigy was called "kusa Bonten" 草梵天.

. Hote Festival, Hote Matsuri 帆手祭 (ほてまつり) 　



Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Shanghai

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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We visited Shanghai many years ago, before the great boom years.
It is such an amazing city !





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SHANGHAI
Exhibition
the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Feb. 12 till Sept. 5, 2010





Shanghai explores, through the mirror of its art, the tumultuous history that has resulted in one of Asia’s most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities of today.

An American poet once wrote that “The artist is the antenna of the race.” For more than a century and half Shanghai artists have not only been documenting the city's many changes but also leading its way into the future. It is impossible to understand one of the world’s most intriguing cities without an awareness of its artists, or to understand its art without an awareness of the city’s history.

The exhibition features more than 130 oil paintings, Shanghai Deco furniture and rugs, revolutionary posters, works of fashion, movie clips, and contemporary installations. These artworks, drawn mainly from the collections of the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Shanghai City History Museum, and the Lu Xun Museum, include the most significant visual documents of the city’s rich and ever-changing culture.

Shanghai is divided into four sections:
Beginnings (1850–1912), High Times (1912–1937), Revolution (1920–1976), and Shanghai Today (1980–present).
source : www.asianart.org




Shanghai World Expo 2010
May 1 till October 31, 2010




中国2010年上海万博
Expo 2010 Shanghai China
The theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City, Better Life".


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SFJAF
Shanghai Fine Jewellery and Art Fair
2007

The goal of the SFJAF is to bring together for the first time in China the world’s leading galleries and jewelers.




Read more here !
© SFJAF



This LOGO reminds me very much of Daruma san!






Here is a cup from Arita pottery, which reminds me of this Daruma logo.




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Sakasa Jizo

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Sakasa Jizo さかさ地蔵
"upside down" Jizo

逆さ地蔵 sakasa Jizoo



He is in the wall of Koriyama Castle in Yamato Koriyama, Nara prefecture.
大和郡山城址

The stones from the river Mizutanigawa near Kasuga Taisha 春日大社の水谷川were not enough.
When the wall was erected, all the available big stones nearby where used for the construction. This Jizo also got into the wall, head down ... They also used stone lanterns and stone grave markers for the wall, which was build on behalf of Toyotomi Hidenaga 豊臣秀長, son of Hideyoshi, in 1585.





Reference


. Jizoo Bosatsu (Kshitigarbha) 地蔵菩薩
Introduction 　



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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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