Large two-door shrine holding inside the figure of Kujaku Myoo sitting on a lutus dais on the back of a peacock. Kujaku means peacock and is revered for transmuting the "poisons" of greed and anger and for eliminating karmic hindrances. The peacock (in India) eats poisonous plants and snakes and is thus thought to guard against evils from poisoning or calamity. Kujaku has four arms, holding a pomegranate, peacock feather, and either a lotus flower or a Buddha-fruit (one attribute is missing)...

Tall zushi with wooden sculpture of Yakushi Nyorai standing on a high, double lotus base. In his left hand he holds a medicine jar, while his right hand is raised in mudra. Very simple, country style carving. Lotus base very well carved in wood, covered with gold lacquer. Figure is plain wood covered with soot patina. Names of the donors written in ink on the bottom of the case. Date unreadable. Edo period, mid 17th century, possibly earlier. Height of case 25 3/4 in. (65.8 cm)...

Museum piece with extraordinary history. This altar table was one of 4 pieces we acquired at auction from the private residence of the 14th and final Daimyo (Lord)of the Tokushima Han (clan) Hachisuka Mochiaki of Awa Province on Shikoku Island in central Japan in the Edo Period. He lived 1846-1918...

Antique Japanese small zushi (traveler's shrine) with unusual scene of Buddha seated on a lotus throne which rises out of billowing waves. Below him, two lords stand on top of the water while smaller lotuses bloom around them. Carved of wood with painted and lacquered details.

Age: Edo Period (1603 - 1867)

Dimensions: 5 1/2" high x 4 1/4" wide (9 1/4" wide when open) x 2 5/8" deep.

Tranquil sitting Nyorai Zen Buddha on a tiered stand. Wood is hinoki or Japanese cypress. Beautifully lacquered with a gold gilt covering. The Buddha has a jeweled forehead and a swirling leaf backdrop. It sits on a lotus stand. The bottom of the stand is swirling Buddhist clouds. c.1885. (11" x 6") (28cm x 15cm). Ask for shipping quote quote.

Large zushi, made on order for a temple, containing a seated group of En no Gyoja, the father of Shugendo, with his two attendants Zenki and Goki inside a cave. En no Gyoja is sitting with a staff in his right hand, and a hand scroll in his left. The two attendants are crouched before him. The green attendant (Goki) holds a ewer and a stick to ring a bell or mokugyo; the red disciple (Goki) holds an axe...

Miniature shrine with inside the sitting figure of Dainichi Nyorai. He sits on a lotus base, in front of an open-worked halo. Written on top, probably in red lacquer, underneath a thick layer of soot: Dainichi. Height 2 ¾ in. (6.8 cm). Japan, Edo period, 19th century. Outside: some tiny lacquer chips at edges of one door. Inside: some of the outer lotus petals missing, otherwise very good condition. Very finely carved.

Nichiren Buddhist shrine containing a sculpture of Kishimojin in demonic appearance, her hands folded in prayer. Kishimojin, or Kishibojin, or Kariteimo, is a complex deity. Originally, she was a demon who stole and killed other people’s children in order to feed her numerous own children. After Buddha Shakyamuni made her see how she made people suffer, she repented and devoted herself to protecting all children. Instead of the flesh of children, she fed her own children pomegranate henceforth...

Buddhist shrine with sculpture of the bodhisattva Myoken, deity of the Polar Star and of the Big Dipper.
He is dressed in Chinese garment, standing on the back of a kida (a beast that is half turtle, half dragon-snake), holding an enormous sword. Behind his back a nimbus with seven discs, representing the seven stars of the Big Dipper. To the left of the rock base the head of a snake pops out. (Probably a snake was wound ”around” the giant turtle and broke off...

Small shrine with a wooden sculpture of Jizo, standing with a jewel in one hand (which are missing), his staff (which is missing) in the other. Here he is represented as Danda Jizo, assisting those who are suffering in hell and saving small children from the wheel of rebirth. The paintings on the doors show naked children chased by demons in hell. Polychromed wood with delicate details. Metal madorla. Japan, late Edo period, around 1800.
Height zushi: ca...

Late 18th to early 19th century Japanese lacquered wood Boddhisattva with his hands in praying attitude, mounted on burlwood plaque. Wonderful beatific face, quiet dignity in its posture, old nicks here and there, overall in great condition for a 200 year old piece. very pleasant patina. Newer burl board with beautiful texture resembling dense swirling clouds, nice metal fitting for hanging. Good devotional or decorative object. Board height 6 7/8 inches, figure height 3.5 inches.

Circular hand shrine, or zushi, in two halves. Inside, one half shows the bodhisattva Kokuzo carved in relief with a sword in the right (to cut through ignorance) and a wish-granting jewel in his left hand. He sits on a lotus base, placed on a rock. Details of the carving and the background painted in gold, black, red and malachite green. The other half shows a lotus pond, a rock and a cloudy sky painted in delicate lines of gold and silver, heightened with black. The outside of the zushi is le...

A Buddhist shrine, made for a temple, containing the 8-armed, weapon-bearing goddess Benten; her head adorned with a gilt bronze crown in the shape of a Shinto gate, decorated with birds, sun and moon, and beads. On the top of her head sits the snake-bodied water deity Ugajin. Behind her head a circular mandorla with three flaming jewels. Benten sits on a double lotus throne, placed on top of a rock formation.
The figure and the lotus dais are made in wood with gilding over red lacquer, wi...

Early 19th century Japanese wooden devotional carving of Kannon (Chinese Guanyin, or Avalokiteshvara) - the Boddhisattva of Compassion - enveloped in her robe and cape. Kannon grants deliverance from suffering to anyone who calls upon her name. Wonderful quality work, beautiful tranquil face, graceful flow of her robe. Old small losses to nose and feet as can be see on photos. Marked on the bottom in ink with one character followed by kakihan (monogram of the carver). Excellent patina, has wond...

Hand shrine, or zushi, in the shape of a lotus bud, carved in two halves. On the inside, on one side the standing figure of Amida Nyorai on a lotus base, his hands in mudra. The other half of the lotus bud is decorated with a mutsume pattern (imitating a triaxial weaving) in kirikane (very thin strips of gold foil). Japan, Edo period, early 19th century.
Very light, soft wood. On the outside red lacquer, covered with leaf gold, that is partly rubbed off again. On the inside much of the carv...

Worn gilt over thick copper pair of Buddhist ritual vessels, one with a single spout and movable handle, the other with double spouts and a long footed handle bisecting the middle opening of the container, the design has etched bamboo, pine, cranes and turtle on body, the handle has scrolling vines done with impressed dots, the traditional stylized crane of the Nichiren sect is on the medallion. Edo Period, (1604-1868). Size A: 8.5"H 5.75"D 8.5"L Size B: 4.5"H 10.5"D 18"L

. The bronze is very thick yellow, the casting is made in several parts, the arms are cast separately and welded, the ribbons too. The finish is very neat. The old patina is beautiful. The base is cast separately, the walls are thin unlike the statue, but it is indisputable that the two were made together. On the base and at the bottom of the statue are incised characters that date it. I do not know what the exact time is, but I can do research on request. The glory is added later. Interesting...

Fairly large zushi hand shrine in the shape of a lotus petal. Double sided, made of sandalwood.
Inside each half is a deep relief carving of Buddhist deities. On one side the three-eyed Aizen Myoo with a lion crown, sitting on a lotus base in the clouds before a red mandorla. His six hands hold Vajra and ghanta, bow and arrow, and lotus bud and pouch. On the other side the two-armed Kannon bosatsu, holding a lotus bud in the left hand, sitting on a lotus base in the clouds. Inside decorate...