1 Abbreviation of Shakamuni 釈迦牟尼 or Shakamon 釈迦文 (Sk: Sakyamuni), meaning sage of the Sakyas. The name by which the historical Buddha and founder of Buddhism is generally known. His family name was Gautama (Jp: Kudon 瞿曇) and his personal name was Siddhartha (Jp: Shittatta 悉達多). He was born in either the mid-6th or mid-5th century BCE as the son of King Suddhodana of the Shakya clan near Kapilavastu in present-day Nepal. At the age of 29 he left home to become a mendicant ascetic, and 6 years later attained enlightenment, thereby becoming a Buddha or "enlightened one." Thereafter he travelled about central India sharing his wisdom until his death at Kusinagari at the age of 80.
Shaka and his life story are central themes in Buddhist art. Episodes from his life were made the subject of various forms of illustrated biographies *butsuden-zu 仏伝図. In India he was initially represented by means of symbols such as the lotus, Dharma-wheel or his footprint *bussokuseki 仏足石, and it was only around 100 CE that he began to be depicted in human form. Individual representations of Shaka also began to be produced, many of them reflecting specific events in his life. The events included: his birth *tanjōbutsu 誕生仏; austerities kugyō Shaka 苦行釈迦, *shussan Shaka 出山釈迦; enlightenment jōdō Shaka 成道釈迦: Shaka attaining enlightenment, characterized by the earth-touching mudra *shokuchi-in 触地印 or meditation mudra *zenjō-in 禅定印; teaching ministry seppō Shaka 説法釈迦: Shaka expounding the Dharma, characterized by the mudra for turning the Dharma-weel *tenbōrin-in 転法輪印; and death *nehan-zu 涅槃図.
He is also often represented either standing or seated with the right hand raised in the mudra for bestowing fearlessness *semui-in 施無畏印 and the left hand lowered in the wish-granting mudra *yogan-in 与願印. Although usually bare-headed and wearing a monk's robes, in a form called hōkan Shaka 宝冠釈迦 he wears a bejewelled crown hōkan 宝冠. A style of Shaka images peculiar to Japan is the *Seiryōjishiki Shaka 清涼寺式釈迦 copied from the principal image at Seiryōji 清涼寺 in Kyoto, which has rope-like hair. In addition, he may be flanked by 2 attendants in the Shaka triad *Shaka sanzon 釈迦三尊 or accompanied by his Ten Chief Disciples *jūdai deshi 十大弟子, sixteen arhats *jūroku rakan 十六羅漢, eight kinds of gods and demi-gods *hachibushū 八部衆 or sixteen good gods *jūroku zenshin 十六善神. In China and Japan, there is also a pairing of Shaka and Tahō 多宝 (Sk: Prabhutaratna) which is based on the Lotus Sutra nibutsu heiza-zō 二仏並座像 (image of 2 Buddhas sitting side by side; see *nibutsu heiza 二仏並坐). In Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教, Shaka appears in the *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 at the center of the Shaka-in 釈迦院 (seated with both hands forming the tenbōrin-in), and he is also identified with Tenku raion 天鼓雷音 (Sk: Divyadundubhimeghanir ghosa) in the Henchi-in 遍知院 and with Fuū jōju 不空成就 among the Five Wisdom Tathagatas *gochi nyorai 五智如来 in the *Kongōkai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅. In addition, there is a Shaka mandara 釈迦曼荼羅 dedicated to Shaka, and the Bodaijō mandara 菩提場曼荼羅, *Hokke mandara 法華曼荼羅, Hōrōkaku mandara 宝楼閣曼荼羅 and *Shōugyō mandara 請雨経曼荼羅 are also centered on Shaka.
2 A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing Shakamuni 釈迦牟尼, the Living Buddha. Typical of statues of Shakyamuni, the balanced features have somewhat downward-looking eyes, gently closed lips, elongated ears, numerous carved curly locks, a thin, curly mustache and beard, and a jewel in the middle of the forehead. The large scale and depth of the mask reminiscent of gyōdō bosatsu 行道菩薩 masks is actually due to its being worn over the *ōbeshimi 大べし見 mask. Used only in the play Dai-e 大会 (The Great Service), Shaka serves as a disguise. A goblin *tengu 天狗 promises a devout priest on Mt. Hiei 比叡 to conjure up a vision of Buddha preaching on Ryōjusen 霊鷲山, and then disguises himself with the shaka mask. Later the god *Taishakuten 帝釈天 disperses the false images and chastises the goblin, who has been forced to remove the shaka mask and disclose his true face. The only other play where masks are layered is Genzai shichimen 現在七面 (The Dragoness of Seven Mask Pond), where a dragoness *hannya 般若 mask is removed to disclose the goddess *zō-onna 増女.