Bodhisattva
mask for Gyōdō
From Japan
Kamakura
period, 13th century AD
Gyōdō
was a ceremony derived originally from China in the Tang dynasty
(AD 618-906). Priests wearing
bodhisattva
masks paraded outside temples.
Bodhisattva masks are
particularly associated with the
raigō forms of these
ceremonies, which enacted the welcome of the dead into Paradise by
the Buddha Amida (Sanskrit:
Amitabha).
This example is made of lacquered, painted and gilded wood. The
procession was led by dancers carrying a
shishi mask to exorcise
the route.