Genomes have characteristics – one of them is diversity. Others include universality, integrality, history, relation, hierarchy, and autopoiesis (self production). Biohistory Emaki and Biohistory New Emaki focus on diversity, on the history and relationships on which it rests. And now, to express hierarchy and autopoiesis, we turn to the Biohistorical Mandala.So, if a mandala can express such an essence, we thought to ourselves, let’s use one to express the essence of life and living things.

Integrating the three expressions of Biohistory

Biohistory Emaki, Biohistory New Emaki, and Biohistory Mandala --these three expressions of life each commemorate a decade in the activities of the JT Biohistory Research Hall. We brought them together to create this, a conical expression of the whole. The conic axis is indicative of time; and the horizontal rays emanating from it, of hierarchy. And, spanning both time and hierarchy are the genomes of living creatures.