Special Features of the Popularization of Bodhidharma

Abstract

According to tradition the founder of Chan or meditational Buddhism, Bodhidharma, originated from India, yet his legend and first representations are more typically associated with China and his legendary figure is frequently seen in the visual art and popular culture of the East Asian countries. In my paper I focus on the visual representations of Bodhidharma as they became popular in Korea and Japan, attempting to show the basic differences in the popularization of the visual images of Bodhidharma in these countries, focusing mainly on the visual appearance and iconography. The power of the image is seen in the commercialization of representations of Bodhidharma, particularly in Japan, where this practice occurred much earlier than in Korea and developed different traditions compared to those in China, where the legend came from.

Keywords

• Bodhidharma
• Korea
• Japan
• visual representation
• popularization