Painting on paper depicting a Hoshi Mandara-星曼荼羅 or Mandala of the Stars, Japan, Edo PeriodAlso known as the hokuto shichi sei mandala-北斗七星曼荼羅, "the mandala of the great bear," it is used in the performance of the Hokutohō-北斗法 or "Rite of the Great Bear" to avert natural disasters and calamities. The Mandala is centered on the deity named Ichijikinrin Butchō-一字金輪仏頂, who usually takes the form of Shaka Kinrin-釈迦金輪 (Shaka of the Golden Wheel). The Shaka Kinrin is a manifestation of Shaka Buddha-釈迦如来 (the historical Buddha), in which he holds a golden wheel in his hands, with the wheel resting on the knees and the hands forming the Hokkai Jōin Mudra-法界定印 (dharma-real meditation mudra). Shaka Kinrin is depicted surrounded by the sixteen devas (seven stars of the great bear and nine planets), twelve constellations or zodiacal palaces in their Westernized form, and twenty-eight lunar houses. Dim. at sight : 89,3 x 50,5 cmThe Shukuyōdō - 宿曜道, Japanese esoteric Buddhist astrology, originated from the rules of astrology developed by Claudius Ptolemy transmitted to India, China and then arrived in Japan through the teaching of Buddhism . It is this western origin that explains the use of the zodiac signs of western astrology in this painting.