The Kasuga Shrine Mandala (Kasuga miya mandara) depicts the abode of the Kasuga deity, Mount Mikasa in front of Kasuga mountain range in Nara, with a bird's-eye view of the shrine landscape. This type of mandala was formulated under the kami-Buddha combination doctrine promoted by Kōfukuji temple in the late Heian period. They hung in a ritual setting was intended to provide worshippers with the same sense as an actual visit to the shrine.
Recent studies led by a number of scholars have revealed the background of some mandala paintings. For instance, the Minamiichichō Jichikai version is regarded as a late 13th century work, created in the circle of the Wakamiya sub-shrine of Kasuga and the shuto (military Buddhist monks) supported by the Daijōin sub-temple of Kōfukuji.
Additionally, this text presents two subjects studied by the author. A few mandala versions including the Hōryūji version were probably used in tandem with Buddhist statue(s)or relic(s)placed in front of the mandala. Further, in the late 13th century, the types of visitors to Kasuga Shrine diversified from court nobles to shuto and the local residents under the Kōfukuji sphere of influence, and this phenomenon was probably linked to the transformation of the sandō (shrine approach) representation in the Kasuga Shrine Mandala.

特集 : 論集 美学・芸術学 : 美・芸術・感性をめぐる知のスパイラル(旋回)#挿図