The Thirty-Seven Deity Mandala Discovered in the Maitreya’s Descent Painting at Myōman-ji Temple, Japan

Three woodblock prints of the Thirty-Seven Deity Mandala were recently discovered during the repair and conservation of the backing layers of the Maitreya’s Descent painting (1294) in the collection of Myōman-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. These mandalas serve as crucial primary sources for understanding the pokchang practice of late Koryŏ Buddhist paintings, a field that has remained understudied. This paper analyzes the composition and content of the newly discovered Thirty-Seven Deity Mandalas and examines the ritual context in which they functioned as sacred inserts that animated the painting and endowed it with sacred presence.The Myōman-ji mandalas feature the seed syllables (Chongja) of the thirty-seven deities from the Perfected Body Assembly (Chojinhŭi) of the Diamond Realm Mandala at their center, integrated with various dhāraṇī and mantras. By comparing these with Diamond Realm Mandala examples from China and Japan, this study demonstrates that while the mandalas used in Koryŏ pokchang> practice shared East Asian commonalities, they formed a unique style through localized Koryŏ adaptations. Specifically, this paper argues that the Thirty-Seven Deity Mandala acted as a symbolic device to enshrine “Dharma-relics” (pŏpsari) within the painting, thereby transforming the depicted Buddhas and Bodhisattvas into manifestations of the dharmakāya (Truth Body).Furthermore, by noting that the Thirty-Seven Deity Mandala was simultaneously enshrined in contemporaneous Buddhist statues, this study reveals that Koryŏ Buddhist paintings and statues were not treated as separate media but were operated within a continuous ritual system. Finally, this research highlights the specificities and transregional connectivity of Koryŏ Buddhist pokchang practices by comparing them with the consecration methods of Buddhist paintings in Tibet and Japan.