This is a statue of Seishi Bodhisattva, one of two guardians who flank Amida Nyorai in the Zenkōji-style Amida Triad statue (*1.) Seishi is found on the right side of the triad. Many of the statues in temple collections and museum collections across the country are simple bronze statues without gilt plating. This piece, however, is a rare and beautiful gilt statue.

 

The statue’s handsome face with its neat expression and soft smile as well as the elegant crests on its clothes represents a milestone in the craft of Buddhist objects. This can be said of all crafts, but the “formalization” of shapes is generally considered a bad thing. There is a tendency to respect the original soft form and line quality. However, I believe there is also something to be said for “formalized (perfected) goodness.” There are formalized aspects of this statue, such as the drape of the robe and the coronet, but there is little formality. It seems as if the statue is clearly convinced that, “this is the ideal form of a Zenkōji-style guardian.” Although it is a small statue, it is well cast. We can only long for days gone by, imagining that the Gohonzon (Amida Nyorai), from which Seishi has now been separated, and the Kannon Bodhisattva that would have been on the left side of the triad must have also been wonderfully crafted.

 

This wonderful statue of Seishi Bodhisattva can certainly be called a museum piece.

 

(*1)

The main image of Zenkō-ji Temple in Shinshū, the standing statue of Amida Nyorai in the Ikkō Sanzon style, is said to follow the ancient style of Japanese Buddhism. The image has been reproduced all over Japan since the Kamakura period. The central figure is a statue of Amida Tathagata (Nyrorai), and the flanking samurai are Seishi Bodhisattva on the right and Kannon Bosatsu on the left.