Artworks

Hachiman Triad, Yakushiji

Artwork · Anonymous · 889–897 · sculpture · Yakushi-ji Temple

Three small images made for the Yasumigaoka Hachiman Shrine on the grounds of Yakushiji, built between 889 and 897: an early example of Shinto sculpture, the kami given human form like Buddhist images (honji suijaku). Hachiman is a monk, seated cross-legged, his right hand on his knee and left hand raised; the two female figures sit relaxed in court costume, hands tucked into their sleeves. Recent research identifies them as Empress Jingū and a second goddess, either Himegami or Ōjin’s wife Nakatsu, with Hachiman as Emperor Ōjin. All three seem to come from the same tree trunk, perhaps of special significance, carved in ichiboku-zukuri. 1 Mason 2005, pp. 161–163, figs. 195–197. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.