.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Shitenno, or Four Heavenly Guardians, are the most frequently encountered of the Ten (Deva), or heavenly beings, which derive from the Brahmic deities of ancient India. They guard the four directions against the enemies of Buddhism, and as such they are usually situated at the four corners of the main altar in temples.
They are Jikoku Ten (the East), Zocho Ten (the South), Komoku Ten (the West), and Tamon Ten who is also known as Bishamon Ten (the North).
The guardians are usually dressed in armour or military tunics in T'ang Chinese style, and carry polearms, vajra, and other weapons. Since the Heian period they have been depicted with ferocious expressions and in attitudes of violent readiness, and frequently, as with these figures, they stand on the four demonic beasts called amanjaku
The four sculptures are made in the ichiboku zukuri method, using a single block of wood for the body and with separate pieces forming some of the limbs and dress. With this construction there is a risk of the wood splitting with changes in the environment, so old well-seasoned timber is used, often taken from the beams of old buildings. The eyes are of crystal with the pupils painted from behind and the whites of the eyes probably formed from paper. The figures are finely sculpted, with much of the original pigmentation intact.
Although the weapon attributes are, not surprisingly, missing, the metal fixtures remain, including the haloes in the form of the Wheel of The Law. Of the four guardians it is possible to identify Tamon Ten who holds a Hoto [Treasure Tower] in his left hand, although the usual geki, a Chinese style halberd, is missing from his right hand.
Ink inscriptions under the bases of the figures indicate that they were at one time in the possession of the Honsenji temple in Itami. Although the inscriptions were partially erased with ink, possibly when, for some reason the figures left the temple, time has duly faded the erasure so that the words beneath can be read. Much of the script is repeated on all four pieces, and reads Tsu no Kuni Itami (Itami in Tsu province - present-day Hyogo prefecture), Jiunzan Honsenji (Honsenji temple in the see of Jiunzan), and Hoji-In Nishu (priest's name). The date Kanbun ni mizunoe tora shichigatsu kichijitsu [an auspicious day in the seventh month 1662] occurs on all four sculptures, and was not erased. The name of a different temple, the Fuseiji, occurs in one place in a different calligraphic style.
The Honsenji temple was founded in 1560 by Jiun-In Nisei Shonin as a branch of the Honkokuji temple of the Nichiren Sect in Kyoto. This was during the age of civil wars, and it is conjectured that the Honsenji may have been built for the benefit of the souls of those who were slain during the disturbances. During the 17th century improvements were made to the main building in the time of the sixth abbot Hoji-In Nishu (whose name appears in the inscriptions). By 1697 the temple had grown to a complex of several buildings, with the Hondo [main building], the Soshido [founder's hall], the Myokendo, the Banshindo, the Shoin, the Kyakuden, the Kuri, the Sanmon, the Shoro, the An, the Taimenjo and other, thus satisfying the requirements for a Shichido Garan [Monastory with seven defined buildings].
A carbon dating of a sample taken from one of the figures shows a likely date of the fifteenth century, and it is therefore possible that the figures date from that time. However the inscribed date of 1662 might imply that the figures were made at that later date as part of the major expansion of the Hosenji and when a renaissance in Buddhist art was underway throughout Japan with the support of the Tokugawa shoguns.
It can only be conjectured why the guardians left the Honsenji temple, but many Buddhist sculptures were sold during the rationalization of the Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples after the Meiji Restoration, and it is possible that these sculptures suffered that fate. But whatever the fortunes of the Honsenji in those days, today the temple is a thriving pillar of the Nichiren Sect with a tradition of over four centuries.
They are Jikoku Ten (the East), Zocho Ten (the South), Komoku Ten (the West), and Tamon Ten who is also known as Bishamon Ten (the North).
The guardians are usually dressed in armour or military tunics in T'ang Chinese style, and carry polearms, vajra, and other weapons. Since the Heian period they have been depicted with ferocious expressions and in attitudes of violent readiness, and frequently, as with these figures, they stand on the four demonic beasts called amanjaku
The four sculptures are made in the ichiboku zukuri method, using a single block of wood for the body and with separate pieces forming some of the limbs and dress. With this construction there is a risk of the wood splitting with changes in the environment, so old well-seasoned timber is used, often taken from the beams of old buildings. The eyes are of crystal with the pupils painted from behind and the whites of the eyes probably formed from paper. The figures are finely sculpted, with much of the original pigmentation intact.
Although the weapon attributes are, not surprisingly, missing, the metal fixtures remain, including the haloes in the form of the Wheel of The Law. Of the four guardians it is possible to identify Tamon Ten who holds a Hoto [Treasure Tower] in his left hand, although the usual geki, a Chinese style halberd, is missing from his right hand.
Ink inscriptions under the bases of the figures indicate that they were at one time in the possession of the Honsenji temple in Itami. Although the inscriptions were partially erased with ink, possibly when, for some reason the figures left the temple, time has duly faded the erasure so that the words beneath can be read. Much of the script is repeated on all four pieces, and reads Tsu no Kuni Itami (Itami in Tsu province - present-day Hyogo prefecture), Jiunzan Honsenji (Honsenji temple in the see of Jiunzan), and Hoji-In Nishu (priest's name). The date Kanbun ni mizunoe tora shichigatsu kichijitsu [an auspicious day in the seventh month 1662] occurs on all four sculptures, and was not erased. The name of a different temple, the Fuseiji, occurs in one place in a different calligraphic style.
The Honsenji temple was founded in 1560 by Jiun-In Nisei Shonin as a branch of the Honkokuji temple of the Nichiren Sect in Kyoto. This was during the age of civil wars, and it is conjectured that the Honsenji may have been built for the benefit of the souls of those who were slain during the disturbances. During the 17th century improvements were made to the main building in the time of the sixth abbot Hoji-In Nishu (whose name appears in the inscriptions). By 1697 the temple had grown to a complex of several buildings, with the Hondo [main building], the Soshido [founder's hall], the Myokendo, the Banshindo, the Shoin, the Kyakuden, the Kuri, the Sanmon, the Shoro, the An, the Taimenjo and other, thus satisfying the requirements for a Shichido Garan [Monastory with seven defined buildings].
A carbon dating of a sample taken from one of the figures shows a likely date of the fifteenth century, and it is therefore possible that the figures date from that time. However the inscribed date of 1662 might imply that the figures were made at that later date as part of the major expansion of the Hosenji and when a renaissance in Buddhist art was underway throughout Japan with the support of the Tokugawa shoguns.
It can only be conjectured why the guardians left the Honsenji temple, but many Buddhist sculptures were sold during the rationalization of the Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples after the Meiji Restoration, and it is possible that these sculptures suffered that fate. But whatever the fortunes of the Honsenji in those days, today the temple is a thriving pillar of the Nichiren Sect with a tradition of over four centuries.