Celebrating 1250 Years Since the Birth of the Great Master Kūkai: Kūkai and the Treasures of Shingon Buddhism

Tokyo National Museum · Heiseikan, 2nd floor · Tokyo · –

In-depth audio guide

Features: Kūkai: an in-depth guide to all 90 works

Plan your visit

Display periods
  • First period: –
  • Second period: –
Opening hours
9:30–17:00 Open until 20:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday, July 19
Closed
Closed Mondays and Tuesday, July 21 (open July 20 and August 31); this exhibition is closed Monday, August 10
Closed during the exhibition
, , , , ,
Admission
  • General ¥2,300
  • University students ¥1,300
  • High school students ¥900
  • Junior high school students and younger ¥0
Reservation
No reservation required

Information verified · Check the official site for same-day updates

Works (90)

National Treasure: 15 · Important Cultural Property: 59

  1. 1. Seated Portrait of Kōbō Daishi Wood with polychromy and crystal-inlaid eyes · Edo period · 17th century · Kongōbuji, Wakayama — Your first encounter: Kōyasan’s ‘living master’ has come down the mountain to meet you in Ueno.
  2. 2. Portraits of the Eight Shingon Patriarchs Color on silk · Muromachi period · 15th–16th century · Sainan-in, Wakayama — From India to Chang’an and then Japan: eight transmitters of esoteric Buddhism, four appearing in each rotation.
  3. 3. Illustrated Biography of Kōbō Daishi, Scrolls 3 and 10 Important Cultural Property Color on paper · Nanbokuchō period · Kōō 1 (1389) · Tōji (Kyōōgokokuji), Kyoto — Commissioned for the master’s 600th birthday and painted over fifteen years, this biography returns to another birthday celebration 650 years later.
  4. 4. Thirty Fascicle Booklets, Fascicles 6, 18, 22, and 24 National Treasure Ink on paper · Heian period · 9th century · Ninnaji, Kyoto — Kūkai’s pocket notebooks from Chang’an: an entire esoteric Buddhist system written in characters under one centimeter high.
  5. 5. Treatise on the Ten Stages of Mind in the Secret Mandala, Fascicles 6 and 7 Ink on paper · Fascicle 6: Edo period; fascicle 7: Heian period · Fascicle 7: Jōan 2 (1172) · Ninnaji, Kyoto — The summit of Kūkai’s thought, copied in relay by people of the Heian and Edo periods five centuries apart.
  6. 6. Biography of Kōbō Daishi in the Hand of Emperor Go-Uda (National Treasure) National Treasure Ink on silk · Kamakura period · Shōwa 4 (1315) · Daikakuji, Kyoto — On the 480th anniversary of Kūkai’s passing, a retired emperor who had become a monk wrote the master’s life in his own hand.
  7. 7. Testament with Handprints in the Hand of Emperor Go-Uda (National Treasure) National Treasure Ink on paper · Kamakura period · 14th century · Daikakuji, Kyoto — Near death, a retired emperor pressed eight vermilion handprints onto a testament written in Kūkai’s form.
  8. 8. Twenty-Five-Article Testament of Kōbō Daishi (Important Cultural Property) Important Cultural Property Ink on paper · Heian period · 11th century · Takahata Fudōson Kongōji, Tokyo — Teachings attributed to Kūkai, with pressure marks in the pages preserving a classroom from a thousand years ago.
  9. 9. Seated Shō Kannon Bodhisattva (Hollow Dry Lacquer) Important Cultural Property Hollow dry lacquer with lacquered gilding · Nara period · 8th century · Gankōji, Kagawa — Before Kūkai was born, his homeland already possessed Buddhist sculpture of capital-city quality.
  10. 10. Gilt-Bronze Finial of a Monk’s Staff (National Treasure) National Treasure Cast copper with gilding · China, Tang dynasty · 8th century · Zentsūji, Kagawa — The sound of Tang China carried across the sea—tradition says Huiguo placed this staff finial in Kūkai’s hands.
  11. 11. Gilt-Bronze Five-Pronged Vajra Bell with the Four Heavenly Kings Important Cultural Property Cast copper with gilding · China, Tang dynasty · 8th–9th century · Iyadaniji, Kagawa — The Four Heavenly Kings are cast into the bell: a Tang ritual sound heard only once in three centuries.
  12. 12. Carved Wooden Mandalas of the Two Realms Wood, unpainted · China, Tang dynasty · 8th–9th century · Kongōbuji, Wakayama — The esoteric Buddhist cosmos carved into two wooden panels, traditionally said to have crossed the sea with Kūkai.
  13. 13. Enma-ten Image National Treasure Color on silk · Heian period · 12th century · Daigo-ji, Kyoto — Not the hell judge: a graceful, bodhisattva‑form king of the underworld riding a white water‑buffalo — on view only in the first half of the exhibition.
  14. 14. Folding Screens of the Twelve Devas National Treasure Color on silk · Heian period · Kenkyū 2 (1191) · Kyoto — Kyōō Gokoku-ji (Tō-ji) — A movable ritual boundary made for kanjō (esoteric initiation): twelve guardian deities stand on the screens; they are shown in four rotating groups so that only three figures are visible at any one time.
  15. 15. Maitreya Bodhisattva Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hozan-ji, Nara — From the Hachijū-honzan (the Eighteen Head Temples), Hozan-ji on Mount Ikoma presents a Kamakura Maitreya that is four hundred years older than the temple itself.
  16. 16. Five Great Wisdom Kings (Godai Myōō) National Treasure Color on silk · Kamakura period · 12th–13th century · Daigo-ji, Kyoto — Only three pre‑medieval, five‑panel sets of the Five Great Wisdom Kings survive in Japan; this is the only example from the Kamakura period.
  17. 17. Peacock Myōō (Peacock Wisdom King) Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 14th century · Chishaku-in, Kyoto — A Myōō that shows no wrathful visage: the peacock honzon that exterminates poison; its iconographic lineage can be traced back to Kūkai himself.
  18. 18. Aizen Myō-ō Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 14th century · Hozan-ji (Nara) — A crimson, sunlike wrathful love — on display only in the later term, roughly four centuries older than the temple that now houses it.
  19. 19. Two Mandalas of the Two Realms (Daigo-ji version) Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 13th century · Daigo-ji, Kyoto — An esoteric Buddhist cosmos rendered with washes of gold and silver pigment — a set officially singled out as "one of the most representative examples of the Shingon tradition."
  20. 20. Mandala of the Two Realms (Ryukoin version) Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 13th century · Ryukoin, Wakayama — A Kamakura-period two‑realm mandala handed down at Ryukoin on Koyasan, known as the "Daishi's Wet Sandals Temple"; it normally remains deep on the mountain and appears in the exhibition only in the first half.
  21. 21. Dainichi-kyō (Mahāvairocana Sutra), vols. 1 and 7 Important Cultural Property indigo-dyed paper with gold ink · Heian period · 12th century · Kanshu-ji, Kyoto — A Dainichi-kyō written in gold on indigo-dyed paper: the fundamental sutra behind the mandala; vol. 1 shown in the first half of the exhibition, vol. 7 in the second.
  22. 22. Hara Diagram (within Esoteric Buddhist images) Important Cultural Property Paper with ink and light color · Heian period · Eiman 2 (1166) · Kyoto — Kyōō Gokoku-ji (Tō-ji) — A 1166 star chart on paper: in an age that entrusted fate to the stars, Tō-ji preserved a manual for astrological practice.
  23. 23. Shōten (Kangiten) image (within Esoteric Buddhist images) Important Cultural Property ink on paper · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kyoto — Kyō-ō Gokoku-ji (Tō-ji) — An elephant‑headed deity kept from public view; his features survive only on monks' diagrams.
  24. 24. Image of the Shinsa Daishō (Deep-Sand General) ink on paper · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kyoto National Museum — The guardian who met the monk Xuanzang in the desert appears on a plain line drawing — and a few steps away stands the version carved by Kaikei.
  25. 25. Standing Jikongōshin (by Kaikei) Important Cultural Property Wood, polychrome · Kamakura period · Kenkyū 8 (1197) · Kongōbu-ji, Wakayama — A vajra-wielding guardian who protects the sutra repository — Kaikei's name only came to light after it toppled.
  26. 26-1. Standing Figure of Shinsha Daishō (attributed to Kaikei) Important Cultural Property Wood, polychromy · Kamakura period · Kenkyū 8 (1197) · Kongōbu-ji, Wakayama — A foreign guardian deity who rescued Xuanzang from quicksand; rendered here as a standing wooden figure attributed to Kaikei, guarding the sutra repository at Kōyasan.
  27. 26-2. Hōkyōin Dharani (item placed inside the standing figure of Shinsha Daishō) Important Cultural Property ink on paper · Kamakura period · Kenkyū 8 (1197) · Kongōbu-ji, Wakayama — A single dharani slip that slept in a deity's abdomen for eight hundred years; it spoke, revealing the date and the donor.
  28. 27. Besshon Zakki (Volume 14: The Rain-Invoking Sutra; Volume 26: Kokūzō) Important Cultural Property Ink on paper · Heian period · 12th century · Kyoto — Ninna-ji — An encyclopedic compendium of esoteric deities' images: early display opens the volume on rain-invoking rituals; later display shows the Kokūzō volume.
  29. 28. Kakuzenshō: Shōten-hō and Enma-ten-hō (Vol. 130, Vol. 144) Important Cultural Property Ink on paper · [Vol. 130 Shōten-hō] Kamakura period; [Vol. 144 Enma-ten-hō] Kamakura period · [Vol. 130 Shōten-hō] copied in Genkyū 2 (1205) · Kanshū-ji, Kyoto — An encyclopedic ritual manual opened to the "Heavenly Divinities" section: the early rotation presents the underworld Enma, the later rotation the secret Shōten.
  30. 29. Tang-Model Mandala Images (within Esoteric Buddhist Imagery) Important Cultural Property Ink on paper (hakubyō line drawing) · Heian period · 12th century · Ninnaji, Kyoto — Hakubyō designs labeled "ancestral model from Tang lands": earlier section shows the Five Buddhas of the Diamond Realm; later section shows the thousand-armed Gundari (Gundari Myō-ō).
  31. 30. Takao Mandala Images Important Cultural Property Ink on paper · Heian period · 12th century · Hase-dera, Nara — A millennium-long backup of the images Kūkai brought from the Tang: each deity of the Takao Mandala copied, one by one, in ink lines.
  32. 31. Twelve Heavenly Deities (Juni-ten) ink on paper · Kamakura period · 13th century · Daigo-ji, Kyoto — A roster of the deities guarding the twelve directions of the ritual hall; six appear in the first exhibition period and six in the second.
  33. 32. Five Great‑Power Bodhisattvas Important Cultural Property Ink and light color on paper · Kamakura period · Kenkyū 8 (1197) · Wakayama — Fugen‑in — A large white‑line drawing with a named, dated author: 1197, painted by Buzen Gorō Tamehiro — the five guardian deities for national protection.
  34. 33. Kakuzenshō: Goshichinichi Ritual (Volumes 159–160) Important Cultural Property Ink on paper · [Volume 159, Goshichinichi Ritual] Edo period [Volume 160, Goshichinichi Ritual] Edo period · [Volume 159, Goshichinichi Ritual] copied in Kan'ei 1 (1624) · Kanjū-ji, Kyoto — A Shingon esoteric "encyclopedia of ritual" — here opened to the volume on the Goshichinichi Ritual.
  35. 34. Goshichinichi Layout (from the Miyō-chō) Important Cultural Property ink on paper · Heian period · 12th century · Ninna-ji, Kyoto — A construction plan for the court’s highest esoteric rite — a Heian-era schematic left as an instruction manual for later generations.
  36. 35. Emaki of Annual Court Ceremonies (copy) Ink and light color on paper · Edo period · 19th century · Tokyo National Museum — A panorama of the Heian court that survives today only through successive generations of copies after the original was long destroyed by fire.
  37. 36. Images of the Twelve Heavenly Deities (Rasetsu-ten, Suiten, Fūten) National Treasure Color on silk · Heian period · 9th century · Saidai-ji, Nara — The oldest surviving paintings of the Twelve Heavenly Deities: the ninth‑century source for the palace January grand ritual's altar guardians — only three are on display.
  38. 37. Standing Figures: Kannon Bodhisattva, Bonten, and Taishakuten (the "Nima" Kannon) Important Cultural Property Wooden; plain ground; kirikane (cut-gold leaf) decoration · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kyoto — Kyōō Gokoku-ji (Tō-ji) — Three small images from the two-bay chamber beside the emperor's pillow: the most intimate form of court esoteric Buddhism.
  39. 38. Kōbō Daishi with the Two Myōjin of Niutsuhime and Kōya (Honzon for Question-and-Answer Lectures) Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 14th century · Wakayama · Kongōbu-ji — The master and the mountain deities share a single image: deity and Buddha seated together make the complete portrait of Kōyasan.
  40. 39. Kōbō Daishi with the Two Myōjin of Niu and Kōya Color on silk · Edo period · 18th century · Hōju-in, Wakayama — The same composition painted again five centuries later: the unchanged subject shows that the devotion remained alive in the Edo period.
  41. 40. Lotus-Pond Maki-e Sutra Box Important Cultural Property wood, lacquer, maki-e · Heian period · 12th century · Kongō-ji, Osaka — A lotus pond made for a sutra: Heian aristocrats lacquered their imagination of the Pure Land into a small black lacquer box.
  42. 41. Lotus-Pond Makie Sutra Box (Kanshū-ji version) Important Cultural Property wood, lacquered, makie (sprinkled-gold) · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kanshū-ji, Kyoto — The Heian prototype is next door: a pair of like-named sutra boxes, displayed side by side, that together tell a century of makie.
  43. 42. One Character, One Buddha: Prefatory Section of the Lotus Sutra National Treasure Ink and pigments on paper · Heian period · 11th century · Zentsuji, Kagawa — Legend says Kūkai wrote the sutra and his mother painted the Buddhas: one character paired with one Buddha — the only scroll of its kind in Japan.
  44. 43. Sennyū-ji Kan'en-sho (written by Shunjo 俊芿) National Treasure Ink on colored paper (the National Treasure designation specifically notes the characters '蠟牋') · Kamakura period · Jōkyū 1 (1219) · Kyoto: Sennyū-ji (泉涌寺) — An 800-year-old temple fundraising letter rendered in Song-style calligraphy — designated a National Treasure.
  45. 44. Mandala of the Sutra for Protecting Children Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 13th century · Chishaku-in, Kyoto — A mandala painted to protect children: the protagonist is not a Buddha but the Gandharva king who binds fifteen hostile spirits.
  46. 45. The Buddha's Discourse on the Dharani for Protecting Children Important Cultural Property paper, ink writing and ink drawing · Heian period · 12th century · Ishiyamadera (Shiga) — A single illustrated fascicle: a practitioner’s handbook for protecting children, sharing its source with the neighbouring mandala
  47. 46. Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hyōgo Prefecture — Kiyoshikojin Seichō-ji — "The hearth deity" Kiyoshikojin's other face: a Kamakura-period Buddhist painting already designated by the state in the Meiji era
  48. 47. Shaka Triad (attributed to Ryosen) Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Nanbokuchō period · 14th century · Kiyoshikojin Seichō-ji, Hyōgo — A site where Song–Yuan innovations crossed east: the mysterious master of early ink painting Ryosen lays down his brush in three Shaka images at an old Shingon temple
  49. 48. Portrait of Emperor Toba Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Nanboku-chō period · 14th century · Negoro-ji, Wakayama — A life‑size imperial portrait that commemorates the imperial favor at Negoro‑ji’s founding — note: on view only in the first term of the exhibition.
  50. 49. Image of Samantabhadra and the Ten Rākṣasīs Important Cultural Property Color on silk · Nanboku-chō period · 14th century · Suma-dera (Hyōgo) — Protective goddesses in jūnihitoe: a Lotus Sūtra image gracefully housed in an ancient Shingon temple
  51. 50. Standing Eleven-faced Kannon Bodhisattva (bronze) Important Cultural Property Gilt bronze · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hase-dera, Nara — The principal image burned seven times; this bronze replica has fixed the “Hase-dera style” pose for posterity.
  52. 51. Gilt-Bronze Openwork Reliquary Stupa National Treasure Bronze; forged and gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Saidaiji, Nara — A 37 cm openwork miniature stupa; even the finial contains an even smaller reliquary stupa.
  53. 52. Sword with Three-pronged Vajra Hilt Important Cultural Property [blade] iron, forged, ryō-shinogi-zukuri; [hilt] copper, cast, gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hasedera, Nara — The hilt is shaped like a three-pronged vajra; the blade is forged iron: the ritual sword held by Fudō Myō-ō is brought down into the human world.
  54. 53. Gilt-bronze Samaya Five-Pronged Bell Important Cultural Property Cast copper, gilded · Heian–Kamakura periods · 12th–13th century · Gokokuji (Tokyo) — No Buddhist faces are cast on the bell body — only the Buddhas' "secret signs". A Japanized esoteric-symbol bell.
  55. 54. Gilt-bronze Pagoda Bell Important Cultural Property Cast copper, gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hattasan Soneiji, Shizuoka — A bell topped by a hollow miniature pagoda: the chief of the Five Bells, the voice of Dainichi Nyorai at the center of the mandala.
  56. 55. Gilt-Copper Jewel Bell Important Cultural Property Copper, cast, gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Shizuoka — Hattasan Soneiji — Five jewels set atop the handle, surmounted by pierced openwork flames — on the altar's south, the seat of Hōshō Nyorai.
  57. 56. Gilt-bronze Five-Vajra Bell Important Cultural Property Bronze, cast, gilt · Kamakura period · 13th century · Soneiji, Shizuoka — The highest-ranked bell in the set, yet a unique “Soneiji type” with no second example found anywhere in Japan.
  58. 57. Gilt-bronze dokkō bell Important Cultural Property Bronze, cast, gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Hattasan Son'ei-ji, Shizuoka — Single-point severing of affliction: the bell most frequently used on the goma altar; temple tradition says it was sent by an imperial envoy of Emperor Shirakawa.
  59. 58. Gilt-Copper Three-Pronged Bell (Replica) Copper; cast; gilded · Edo period · 17th–19th centuries · Soneiji Temple (Shizuoka) — Replacing a bell lost centuries ago — the replica tells, precisely, the deepest meaning of a ritual instrument
  60. 59. Gilt-Bronze Handled Incense Burner with Bottle-shaped Counterweight (Sonei-ji version) Copper, cast, gilded · Muromachi period · 16th century · Hattasan Sonei-ji (Shizuoka) — An incense burner passed down through a century of warfare: the act of a monk holding the burner to offer incense has never ceased at the ancient Enshū temple.
  61. 60. Gilt‑copper‑mounted kaitei box with mikkan hōju, rinpō and kamma motifs wood with gilt‑copper mountings · Muromachi period · 16th century · Son'ei‑ji, Shizuoka — The box lid itself is a ritual altar: the three motifs—hōju (wish‑fulfilling jewel), rinpō (wheel‑precious), and kamma—stand guard over the unseen 'precepts' kept inside.
  62. 61. Gilt-copper Handled Censer with Bottle Counterweight (Kongō-ji version) Important Cultural Property Copper, cast, gilded · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kongō-ji, Osaka — A gilt censer from the height of 'Women's Kōya': a Kamakura prototype that found a Muromachi echo in Suruga three centuries later.
  63. 62. Shigisan Engi Emaki National Treasure Ink and color on paper · Heian period · 12th century · Chōgosonshi-ji (Shigisan), Nara — A rice-bale borne across the sky on a flying bowl: a pinnacle of Japanese picture-scroll painting — early section 'The Flying Rice-bale', later section 'The Engi Kaji'.
  64. 63. Gilt Copper Bowl Important Cultural Property Copper, hammered and gilded · Heian period · Enchō 7 (929) · Nara — Chōgosonshi-ji (Shigisan) — The bowl that soars in the picture scroll — the object dated 929 is here before you.
  65. 64. Ishiyamadera Engi Emaki Important Cultural Property Ink and color on paper · Kamakura to Nanbokuchō periods · 14th century · Ishiyama-dera, Shiga — A temple chronicle painted across nearly five centuries: begun in the Kamakura period and completed in the Edo period.
  66. 65. Kanshu-ji Engi Emaki (Kanshu-ji Origin Tale Handscroll) Ink and color on paper · Edo period · Hoei 3 (1706) · Kanshu-ji, Kyoto — A chance shelter in the rain produces an emperor and a temple: an Edo-period courtier and a painter retell the founding legend.
  67. 66. Seated Shakyamuni Tathāgata (one of the Tower-Based Four Buddhas) Important Cultural Property Wood-core dry-lacquer construction; lacquer foil · Nara period · 8th century · Saidaiji, Nara — A Nara-era Buddha that has looked out from a pagoda for a thousand years; the name "Shakyamuni," however, was only fixed in the Kamakura period.
  68. 67. Seated Five Wisdom Tathāgatas (five figures) National Treasure Wood, lacquer and gilding · Heian period · 9th century · Anshō-ji, Kyoto — The oldest surviving complete set of Five Wisdom Tathāgatas: a three‑dimensional ninth‑century mandala, the five figures reunited in Tokyo.
  69. 68. Seated Tathāgata Butsugen‑Bummo (formerly attributed to Maitreya) Important Cultural Property wood with lacquer and gilding · Heian period · 9th century · Kanshinji, Osaka — A Buddha called “Maitreya” for a thousand years was reclaimed by a ledger from 883.
  70. 69. Seated Maitreya (formerly identified as Hōshō Nyorai) Important Cultural Property Wood, lacquer and gold leaf · Heian period · 9th century · Kanshin-ji (Osaka) — Called "Hōshō Nyorai" for centuries, an 883 inventory restored its original name: Maitreya.
  71. 70. Seated Dainichi Nyorai Important Cultural Property Wood, lacquer and gold leaf · Heian period · 12th century · Nakayama-dera, Hyōgo — Deep within the Jizō Hall of the temple famed for safe childbirth sits a Heian-period principal esoteric Buddha, Dainichi Nyorai.
  72. 71. Standing Statue of Bishamonten Important Cultural Property Wood, polychrome · Heian period · 12th century · Otokuni-dera, Kyoto — In the temple where Kūkai and Saichō debated doctrine stands a guardian deity whose features are tinged with melancholy.
  73. 72. Seated Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) Important Cultural Property wood, polychrome · Heian period · 12th century · Nakayama-dera, Hyōgo — Another face preserved for eight hundred years at Nakayama-dera, the famed temple for safe childbirth: the silent Heian-period Yakushi Nyorai.
  74. 73. Standing Figure of Kisshōten Important Cultural Property Wood with polychromy · Heian period · 12th century · Zentsū-ji, Kagawa — The goddess of good fortune brought from Kūkai's birthplace — her place in her hometown's treasure hall is currently empty.
  75. 74. Seated Aizen Myōō Important Cultural Property Wood, polychromy · Heian period · 12th century · Hōkō-ji, Yamanashi — Bow drawn toward the heavens, arrow aimed at the stars — Japan's oldest 'heavenly-bow' Aizen Myōō, traveling from the Kai mountains to the capital.
  76. 75. Seated Fudō Myō-ō (by Kaikei) Important Cultural Property Wood, polychromy with kirikane (cut-gold decoration), crystal-inlaid eyes · Kamakura period · Ken'nin 3 (1203) · Daigo-ji, Kyoto — In the same year the great Nio guardians of Tōdai-ji’s south gate were completed, Kaikei poured the same intensity into this small 53.3 cm figure.
  77. 76. Seated Vajrasattva Important Cultural Property Wood, lacquer with gold leaf · Kamakura period · 13th century · Zuishinin, Kyoto — A gilded deity of wisdom in the main hall; the figure's interior bears the name Kaikei.
  78. 77. Standing Jizō Bodhisattva (by Higo Bettō Jōkei) National Treasure Wood, polychromy, inlaid crystal eyes · Kamakura period · Jōō 3 (1224) · Daihōon-ji, Kyoto — The seventh figure alongside the Six Kannon — in 2024 all seven were designated National Treasures.
  79. 78. Standing Jizō Bodhisattva (Black Jizō) Important Cultural Property Wood; polychromy with kirikane (cut-gold decoration); rock-crystal inlaid eyes · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kakuon-ji, Kanagawa — A Jizō said to have been blackened while taking the jailers' fire for the condemned; it does not travel to Tokyo until 18 August — the only work in the exhibition you must check the dates to see.
  80. 79. Standing Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva Important Cultural Property Wood, plain (unpainted) surface, inlaid crystal eyes · Kamakura period · 13th century · Suma-dera, Hyōgo — At a temple on the Genpei battlefields, an 84 cm unpainted wooden Kannon has stood quietly for seven hundred years.
  81. 80. Zushi-Enclosed Five Great Myōō (by Tankai) Important Cultural Property [zushi] wood, lacquered; [Fudō Myōō] wood, polychrome, gold powder; [Gozanze Myōō, Gundari Myōō, Daiitoku Myōō, Kongōyasha Myōō] wood, polychrome · Edo period · Genroku 14 (1701) · Hozanji Temple, Nara — Carved by the Edo esoteric Buddhist monk Tankai: inside an 81.5 cm zushi is a furious cosmos.
  82. 81. Kurikara Dragon‑Sword Important Cultural Property Gilt bronze · Edo period · 17th–18th centuries · Hozan‑ji, Nara — The sword of Fudō Myōō embodied as an independent deity: a black dragon devouring the blade, standing at the origin of Edo Shōten devotion.
  83. 82. Seated Yakushi Nyorai National Treasure wood; plain finish (unpainted); kirikane (cut-gold application) · Heian period · Kōwa 5 (1103) · Ninna-ji, Kyoto — A small sandalwood Buddha about 11 cm high: an entire Yakushi hall compressed into the palm of your hand.
  84. 83. Seated Nyoirin Kannon Bodhisattva Important Cultural Property Wood; plain ground · Heian period · 11th century · Daimonji Temple, Osaka — A hidden principal image that has never left the temple since its creation: the Buddha and the mountain carved as one from a single aged camphor trunk.
  85. 84. Standing Eleven‑faced Kannon (honzon of the Shōgatsu-dō; secret image) Important Cultural Property Carved wood, polychromy · Heian period · 9th–10th century · Mie Prefecture, Kanbodai‑ji — A rare six‑armed, atypical Kannon revealed only once every thirty‑three years — now it has stepped out from Iga’s mountain gate.
  86. 85. Standing Statue of the Thousand‑Armed Kannon Bodhisattva Important Cultural Property Wood; plain ground with kirikane (cut-gold inlay) · Kamakura period · 13th century · Kongosanmaiin, Wakayama — A Kamakura‑period Senju Kannon at Kongosanmaiin on Kōyasan, rendered in plain wood with gold‑line kirikane applied to the garments.
  87. 86. Seated Shakyamuni Tathāgata (Sanpei Zuizō) Wood with lacquer, gold leaf, and pigments · China · Qing dynasty · 17th century · Sennyū-ji, Kyoto — A Shakyamuni made in Qing China sits in the imperial temple — Sennyū-ji's ties to the continent have never been severed.
  88. 87-1. Standing Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva in a Zushi Wood (unpainted/plain finish) · Edo period · 19th century · Kyoto, Sennyū-ji — A late-Tokugawa princess's personal Buddha: a hand-held zushi that holds Princess Kazunomiya's anxieties and prayers
  89. 87-2. Incense Wood Fragments Inscribed "Ranshatai" Agarwood (jinko) · Nara period · 8th century · Sennyū-ji, Kyoto — Four fragments of the "finest incense under heaven": from Shōsōin's emblem of power to a wisp of consolation in the inner palace
  90. 88. Seated Image of Kōgyō Daishi Wood, polychrome paint, rock-crystal insets (gyokugan) · Edo period · 17th–18th centuries · Negoro-ji, Wakayama — The exhibition's closing work: Kakuban, who rekindled Shingon three centuries after Kūkai.

Official website

Sources for this page

More at this museum

On now and opening soon in Tokyo