shrine;
figure
- Museum number
- 1885,1227.37
- Description
-
Shrine, containing figures of Nichiren, Nichizo, Daikoku, Fudo Myo-o, Aizen Myo-o, the Shitenno, Shaka Nyorai (back left), Taho Nyorai (back right) and four others. Made of lacquered and gilded wood; also gilded brass.
- Production date
- 18thC-19thC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 32 centimetres
-
Width: 63 centimetres (Doors open fully)
-
Width: 42 centimetres (Doors open halfway)
-
Width: 27.50 centimetres
-
Depth: 25 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Clark 2017
This double-doored, portable lacquer shrine houses sacred images of monk Nichiren (1222–1282) and, possibly, his follower monk Nichizō (1269–1342), along with fourteen Buddhist deities and Japanese kami deities associated with the Lotus Sutra, the central text of Nichiren belief. Such shrines have their origins in alcoves where sutras, along with Buddhist sculptures and paintings, were placed. They have been used since ancient times as portable religious paraphernalia, with which to make faith more personally accessible. A sketch recalling the living quarters of Hokusai and his daughter in the early 1840s, by the artist’s student Tsuyuki Kōshō (cat. 193), shows on one wall a simple altar made from an orange box and containing an image of Nichiren. Hokusai and his daughter evidently had nowhere in their humble dwelling to place a proper altar, making their determination to venerate Nichiren in a temporary box all the more moving. Hokusai’s artistic practice was closely linked with his faith in Nichiren Buddhism throughout his life.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2010 Oct 14 - 2011 Apr 3, BM, Images and Sacred Texts: Buddhism across Asia
2017 25 May - 13 Aug, London, BM, G35, Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave
2017 6 Oct - 19 Nov, Osaka, Abeno Harukas Art Museum
- Acquisition date
- 1885
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1885,1227.37
