A variety of mandala *mandara 曼荼羅 of a relatively small scale and centered on one particular deity, besson 別尊; it is contrasted with the toe mandara 都会曼荼羅 or tobu mandara 都部曼荼羅, which depict deities from all "divisions" or "families" (bu 部), and the bue mandara 部会曼荼羅 or betsubu mandara 別部曼荼羅, which depict deities belonging to a single family. Varieties of toe mandara other than the *Ryōkai mandara 両界曼荼羅 include the fushūe mandara 普集会曼荼羅 described in the Darani jikkyō 陀羅尼集経 (Taishō No. 901) and the Kōdaigedatsu daimandara 広大解脱大曼荼羅 described in the Fukūkenjaku jinpen shingonkyō 不空羂索神変真言経 (Taishō No. 1092), and the bue mandara also exists on a theoretical level; however, because there are few actual examples of these types of mandara, all mandara other than the Ryōkai mandara may, artistically speaking, be regarded as varieties of besson mandara. Besson mandara are classified according to the central deity into the Buddha family, butsubu 仏部; Buddha-crown family *Butchō 仏頂; sutra-rite division, kyōbōbu 経法部; Kannon family *Kannon 観音; bodhisattva family *bosatsu 菩薩; myōō family *myōō 明王; and family of gods and others *ten 天. A typical besson mandara of the Buddha family is the *Butsugen mandara 仏眼曼荼羅; typical examples of the Buddha-crown family is the *Ichijikinrin mandara 一字金輪曼荼羅 and *Sonshō mandara 尊勝曼荼羅; typical examples of the sutra-rite division is the *Hokke mandara 法華曼荼羅, Ninnōgyō mandara 仁王経曼荼羅, and *shōugyō mandara 請雨経曼荼羅; a typical example of the Kannon family is the Nyoirin mandara 如意輪曼荼羅; typical examples of the bodhisattva family are the Miroku mandara 弥勒曼荼羅 and Hachiji monju mandara 八字文殊曼荼羅; typical examples of the myōō family are the *Aizen mandara 愛染曼荼羅 and *Anchin mandara 安鎮曼荼羅; and typical examples of the family of gods, etc are the *Enmaten mandara 焔魔天曼荼羅 and *Kichijōten mandara 吉祥天曼荼羅. The *hoshi mandara 星曼荼羅, which originated in the worship of heavenly bodies, is generally classified as belonging to the family of gods, etc., but because it was often used in rites for averting natural disasters, it sometimes constitutes a separate division called the constellatory division *seishuku 星宿. In Japan, many besson mandara were produced during the Heian period in conjunction with the upsurge in popularity of esoteric rites dedicated to particular deities, bessonhō 別尊法, and among the extant examples those that have been designated important cultural properties alone number more than 50. Whereas there is a strong tendency in the case of the Ryōkai mandara to adhere to the traditional iconography of India and China, the besson mandara strongly reflect elements deriving from popular cults, as well as the originality of the monks who conceived of them, even though they are based on scriptures and ritual manuals originating in India and China. They may be regarded as constituting a genre of art in Esoteric Buddhism, mikkyō 密教, that underwent unique developments in Japan.