Minneapolis Institute of Art

Hachiman in the Guise of a Buddhist Monk

Japan

Date

12th century

Medium

Japanese cypress with polychrome

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Buddhism was introduced to Japan through Korea after 500 and early Buddhists immediately set off to reconcile the new, foreign religion with the indigenous belief system of Shintō. According to the theory of honji suijaku (Shintō/Buddhist syncretism), Shintō kami (deities) were temporary embodiments of Buddhist deities on this earth, and specifically manifested themselves in Japan to save humans. Hachiman was a kami (deity) of war and archery. According to Shintō belief, Emperor Ōjin (270-310) became Hachiman after death. The worshipping of Hachiman was popular among samurai who traced their lineage back to the Emperor. Wearing a kesa, or wrap, over a robe and with a shaven head, Hachiman presents himself here as a Buddhist monk, reflecting the merging of different beliefs in one. This sculpture was once fully painted, and some traces of pigment—like the white skin, green on the robe, yellow and black on the kesa—remains on the surface. Asia

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