After reading chapter twelve revolving Japanese art before 1330, I choose the Kasuga Shrine Mandala, which was founding on the first page of chapter twelve, for this discussion about the mixing of Buddhist, and Shinto traditions. The piece depicts Buddhist deities overlooking a Japanese religious compound, the Kasuga Shrine, located in Nara, Japan. Included in the painting, are focus on nature and the kami, who in Shinto religion, are the protectors of life, and also represent the forces of nature. What ties both Shinto, and Buddhist traditions in the painting is that during the Heian period, kami were considered emanation’s of Buddhist deities. The textbook describes the paintings meaning as showing how the two religions mixed without sacrificing
