forming the appearance of a wheel of a thousand spokes…. The toes are slender, round, long, straight, graceful, and somewhat luminous.”
The explanation of the Seven Appearances which is given by the Shō-Ekō-Hō-Kwan cannot be called satisfactory; but it is not without interest in relation to Japanese popular Buddhism. The emblems are considered in the following order:—
I.—The Svastikâ. The figure upon each toe is said to be a modification of the manji[1] (卍); and although I doubt whether this is always the case, I have observed that on some of the large kakémono representing the footprints, the emblem really is the svastika,—not a flamelet nor a flower-shape.[2] The Japanese commentator explains the svastikâ as a symbol of “everlasting bliss.”
II.—The Fish (Gyo). The fish signifies freedom from all restraints. As in the water a fish moves easily in any direction, so in the Buddha-state the fully-emancipated knows no restraints or obstructions.
