Artworks

Shitennō, Kondō, Hōryūji

Artwork · Anonymous · c. 650 · statue · Hōryū-ji Temple

The four Shitennō at the corners of the altar of the golden hall — Tamonten with a reliquary stupa, Zōchōten with a long and a short halberd, Jikokuten with a jewel and a halberd, Kōmokuten with brush and scroll — each carved from a single block, standing on a demon, with traces of colour and gilding. Dated about 650 by inscriptions naming the craftsmen Ōguchi Aya Yamaguchi Atai and Tsugi Konmaro and an entry in the Nihon shoki. 1 Mason 2005, p. 78, fig. 94. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.