The four clusters represent the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). The 28 Moon Lodges or 28 Lunar Mansions (as they are often called in English) are divided into four clusters, with each cluster made up of seven constellations. But the Chinese lunar calendar, based on the 28 lunar mansions, was more precise than those of other nations - it allowed the Chinese to determine in advance and greater precision when a 13th month was needed.” Virtually all early civilizations worldwide were aware of the occasional need to add an intercalary month to make the seasons align with each particular year. Says Derek Walters (2009): “The inclusion of the 28 moon lodges allowed great precision in regulating the calendar. It is the Chinese system that was imported by the Japanese. Unlike India, the grouping in China was always 28. The Chinese merged their system with that from India following the introduction of Buddhism to China around the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. A similar grouping of 28 was developed independently in China.
Each of these points (constellations) is associated with a deity, although the point-deity association varies among nations and sects. = Nakṣatra (or) Aṣṭā-viṃśati nakṣatrāṇiĪn astrological grouping from ancient India that refers to 27 or 28 points that the moon passes through in its monthly/annual phases and the associated star constellations found in the cosmic background.
Last Update: July 2014 - Added photo and notesĪlso Big Dipper Stars & Pole Star (Myōken Bosatsu)Īlso Five Planets, Sun, Moon, Nine Luminaries Held in conjunction with the exhibition Japanese Mandalas: Emanations and Avatars, June 18 - Nov. Under the Gaze of the Stars: Astral Mandalas in Medieval Japan. Video presentation by scholar Bernard Faure (Columbia Univ).
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