Height: 31.8 cm
Diameter of lotus-form dais: 20.5 cm
Base: 14.7 cm square.

Sculpted from a hard, heavy volcanic stone, this hoju most likely was originally placed atop an elaborate funerary monument. Uncommon.

Height 25.7 cm, Width 13.4 cm, Depth 10.0 cm.

The text of a catalogue accompanying a high-profile 1997 U.S. exhibition of Japanese Buddhist sculpture opines the following with regard to Seishi Bosatsu: "No example of representation as an independent deity is known." That hopeful declaration notwithstanding, the piece offered herein is irrefutably a depiction of Seishi Bosatsu in her popular role as Queen of the 23rd-Night Moon-Viewing Women's Club, i.e., this is a representation of Seishi Bosatsu in utterly glorious independence. (The two Chinese-derived Japanese characters for "Seishi" appear on the right side of the piece, while the three Chinese-derived Japanese characters for "23rd" appear on the left side.) Could it be that reigning expert opinion ex-Japan on the topic of Japanese Buddhist sculpture overlooks, either consciously or unconsciously, the tradition in stone? So it would seem, and so indeed it is.

In cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan during the Edo Period (1603-1868), stone depictions of Seishi Bosatsu such as the one offered herein served as focal points for gatherings of women--exclusively male 23rd-Night Moon-Viewing clubs also existed, apparently, albeit in extremely limited numbers--on the 23rd night after each new moon, i.e., a monthly gathering. The Nichiren Buddhist sect was responsible for this tradition of monthly female gatherings. In cases where a memorial stone was commissioned for a former member of a 23rd-Night Moon-Viewing club, Seishi Bosatsu was the preferred deity. Hence, the existence of Edo-Period Seishi Bosatsu memorial stones. (For an example of such a stone, please see our stock #17, "Seishi Bosatsu in Stone, Edo Period.")

Height: 29.5 cm
Width: 14.0 cm
Depth: 11.2 cm.

Height 19.0 cm, Width 16.7 cm, Depth 13.2 cm.

Tenjin, which literally means "Heavenly God," refers to the spirit of courtier-scholar Sugawara Michizane (845-903). A victim of political intrigue, Michizane was sent into exile but continued to protest his innocence through poetry until his death. His angry spirit was later judged to be the source of a series of disasters, and so he was posthumously pardoned, given a promotion in court rank, and ultimately deified. He is revered as the patron saint of scholarship at such shrines as the Dazaifu Tenmangû in Fukuoka Prefecture and Kitano Tenjin shrines throughout Japan.

Height 43 cm, Width 23 cm, Depth 10 cm.

A glance backward in time across the field of Japanese Buddhist stone sculpture tends to become a wide-eyed stare upon discovering a distinct stylistic shift somewhere around the beginning of the Edo Period (1603). To uninitiated observers, the defining features of a significant portion of pre-Edo stone sculpture remain shrouded in mystery, a fact no doubt related to the virtual absence of non-Japanese-language literature on the subject. As a helpful guide, six commonly observed characteristics of such pre-Edo Buddhist stone sculpture are herein summarized, as follows: (1) flatness, in two senses, namely, (a) shallow depth relative to height and width, and (b) shallow relief sculpting; (2) a triangulated upper mandorla resembling a pediment, usually jutting ledge-like outward over the figure; (3) a base carved pointedly for insertion directly into the ground as opposed to flatly for placement on the ground; (4) stylistic primitivism with regard to the treatment of the deity depicted; (5) an overwhelming predominance of Amida Buddha depictions, invariably in the seated position with hands placed centrally on the lap in the Amida jo-in concentration mudra; and (6) an absence of both date and inscription. This type of piece is typically found only along paths in remote mountainous regions of Japan, its original intended function apparently being similar to that of a dosojin stone marker, i.e., to ward off evil and protect passers-by. The innate tendency of such pieces to go horizontal necessitates that they be propped up against a wall or other form of lateral support for vertical display. If placed outdoors, they can easily be inserted into the ground. One would be hard-pressed to find a more thoroughly classic example of the genre than this stone.

Height 70.2 cm, Width 21.5 cm, Depth 15.2 cm.

Height 53 cm, Width 21.5 cm, Depth 10 cm.

Jizo Bosatsu is the ubiquitous hero of the Edo-Period stone saga. Jizo depictions sculpted in relief account for the vast bulk of the total sculptural production in stone beginning from the mid-Edo Period ca. 1750 and continuing into the modern era. (Three-dimensional figurative Jizo depictions, by contrast, are few and far between.) It's no great mystery that "Jizo" should be synonymous with "Japanese stone sculpture" in the minds of most observers.

Average height, including dais: 41.5 cm.
Average width of dais: 15.5 cm.
Average depth of dais: 26.5 cm.