Metalwork: Buddhist Kyozo and Kakebotoke
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Pendent Plaque with Image of Kannon (Avalokitesvara), Kamakura period, dated 1275 (Important Cultural Property)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 13
March 19, 2013 (Tue) - June 2, 2013 (Sun)Kyozo are engravings or paintings of Buddhist or Shinto deities on bronze panels that are similar to mirrors. Panels with three-dimensional representations of these deities are known as kakebotoke. These items were considered sacred and were hung up as objects of worship. The arrival and development of kyozo was connected to such factors as Esoteric Buddhist contemplation and honji suijaku, a theory that Buddhist deities could appear as Shinto gods, based on the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism. Beginning with kyozo in Esoteric Buddhism, their shape gradually became more three-dimensional throughout the Heian period, with kakebotoke becoming dominant from the Kamakura period onward. This exhibition highlights this change of form, as well as metalworking techniques such as engraving, casting, and forging for producing images of Buddhist and Shinto deities.
Current exhibit includes:
Mirror with Image of Juichimen Kannon (Ekadasamukha) in Hairline Engraving, Heian period, dated 1159 (Important Cultural Property)
Pendent Plaque with Image of Kannon (Avalokitesvara), Kamakura period, dated 1275 (Important Cultural Property)
Plaque with Cast Image of Zao Gongen, Excavated from Kinpusen, Tenkawa-mura, Yoshino, Nara, Heian period, 12th century (Important Cultural Property, Lent by Ominesanji, Nara)