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Buddhist Mask

1400-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This mask was used in Buddhist Gyodo ceremonies such Raigo and Nerikuyo which have their origins in Tang dynasty (AD 618-906) China. It is made of lacquered, painted and gilded wood and shows clear signs of use. Labels inside the mask refer to cyclical dates on which the mask was used for the New Year processions.

During Gyodo ceremonies priests wearing masks enact the part of Amida Buddha (Sanskrit: Amitabha) and his disciples, welcoming the soul of dying believers into Paradise. The priests also carry a statue or Buddhist relics in a carriage or palanquin in a procession. Bodhisattva masks are particularly associated with the Raigo form of the Gyodo ceremony, in which the dead are welcomed into Paradise by the Amida Buddha. Bodhisattva (Japanese: Bosatsu) are Buddhist saints.

A well-known Nerikuyo ceremony is still conducted at Taimadera in Nara on the fourteenth of May each year.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Wood, covered with gufun, painted, lacquered and gilded
Brief description
Buddhist mask, wood, Japanese, 15th century
Physical description
Made of four sections of wood (possibly Japanese cypress) which have been covered with gofun (a type of gesso) and then painted, lacquered and gilded.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29.3cm
  • Width: 18.5cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • SHAKA mask of the Buddha, temple plays, (Gakki I.IIIV). (On paper label interior right hand side.)
  • 1. Shogatsu ( New Year) 2. Tsuitachi Kinoto (First day, Kinoto Year) 3. Futsuka Hinoe (Second day, Hinoe Year) 4. Mikka Hinoto (Third day, Hinoto Year) (On inside at top of the head: Japanese paper affixed back to front with Japanese black ink (sumi) inscription in four columns.)
Gallery label
Processional mask of a bodhisattva 1400–1500 In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is an enlightened being who helps others on their path to enlightenment. This mask would have been worn along with sumptuous robes for a religious ceremony in which monks processed around the buildings and grounds of a temple complex. This created the effect of the world to come. Carved, lacquered and gilded wood, with painted details Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund Museum no. A.9-1967 (04/11/2015)
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund
Summary
This mask was used in Buddhist Gyodo ceremonies such Raigo and Nerikuyo which have their origins in Tang dynasty (AD 618-906) China. It is made of lacquered, painted and gilded wood and shows clear signs of use. Labels inside the mask refer to cyclical dates on which the mask was used for the New Year processions.

During Gyodo ceremonies priests wearing masks enact the part of Amida Buddha (Sanskrit: Amitabha) and his disciples, welcoming the soul of dying believers into Paradise. The priests also carry a statue or Buddhist relics in a carriage or palanquin in a procession. Bodhisattva masks are particularly associated with the Raigo form of the Gyodo ceremony, in which the dead are welcomed into Paradise by the Amida Buddha. Bodhisattva (Japanese: Bosatsu) are Buddhist saints.

A well-known Nerikuyo ceremony is still conducted at Taimadera in Nara on the fourteenth of May each year.
Collection
Accession number
A.9-1967

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Record createdApril 15, 2009
Record URL
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