Two Japanese temple guardians 9491714147, 9789491714146

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They are not exactly friendly, these two huge temple guardians, who came to the Rijksmuseum from Japan in 2007. Muscles tensed, as if they might attack at any moment, their gestures are hostile and their glare is downright terrifying. Their attitude, happily, is directed not at humans, but at all the forces that threaten Buddhism. They will not be mocked, though: a photographer who pulled a face at the figures while he was taking pictures of them found that the fuses blew twice. This publication tells you more about the origins of the two guardians, deeper layers of meaning and their decoration. Their function is no longer to repel - on the contrary, they are now one of the greatest attractions in the Asian Pavilion.

TWO

JAPANESE TEMPLE GUARDIANS MENNO FITSKI

Two Temple Guardians Japan, fourteenth century Original location: Yokota, lwayaji

INTRODUCTION In late 2007 the Rijksmuseum took delivery of two huge crates, each conta ining a larger than life -size statue of a Japanese temple guardian rF1G 11. The polychromed wooden figures came from an art gallery in Kyoto. On first sight of the statues in 2004 it was clear at a glance that they could more than hold their own against guardians seen before, still standing at the gates of their temples. There was much about their provenance that was obscure, but their command ing presence, coupled with the persuasive argument that no European museum had temple guardians of this size, decided the matter. The objects required an export licence in view of their importance to Japan but, happily, it was obtained without difficulty. After more than five years spent in the Rijksmuseum's repository, a period that provided the opportunity to study, conserve and photograph them, the temple guardians have now taken their place in the Asian Pavilion - prominently displayed as one of the highlights of the Rijksmuseum's Asian art collection .

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TEMPLE GUARDIANS The chief function of temple guardians is obvious - the name says it all. They keep guard, standing either side of the open wooden gatehouse that gives access to a temple. Everything about their impressively muscular bodies is calculated to deter and arrest: outthrust hands repel or grasp fearsome weapons, muscles are tensed as if they might leap into action at any moment, their stare is terrifying. They confront evil in the broadest sense of the word, that is to say everything that threatens Buddhism and must be kept out of the temple. They remind visitors to behave well, and ward off otherworldly evil forces. Guardians, despite their frightening appearance, mean well towards humanity and this is reflected in popular culture. Every year, in towns throughout Japan, there is a festival when children - and adults, too, if there is room - are allowed to crawl between the legs of temple guardian figures 1F1G. 2J . This custom probably dates from the Eda period (1600- 1868) and expresses a wish for continued good hea lth. To persuade the large, strong guardian figures to lend them a little of their strength and promote their physical well-being, people write wishes and attach them to the gatehouse, either by tying on slips of paper, or using specially made votive boards CF1G.3J . The same idea lies behind the huge straw sandals they make for the guardians - or perhaps it is simply to protect their bare feet from the cold 1F1G. 4J . Sometimes people even attribute human characteristics to the figures. Guardians have been spotted, so it seems, helping out on the land in times of need, while others have challenged passers-by to a quick bout of sumo wrestling. But it has not always been one way. Legend has it that, in a drunken rage, the prodigiously strong brigand Rochishin attacked a guardian figure that he mistook for an adve rsary CF1G. sJ.

2 A little boy craw ls between a guardia n's legs during a festiva l in Manmanji, a temple in Matsudo

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Votive boards on the gatehouse of Manmanji, Matsu do

Tsukioka Yoshitoshl Rachishin Destroying a Guardian Figure

c. 1887-90

ORIGINS The origins of temple guardians, like those of Buddhism itself, lie in India. In the first centuries of the Common Era, people started to depict Buddhas as human figures, while in narrative reliefs there are protective strong men who are probably the forerunners of guardians CF1G. &J . By about this time Buddhism had reached China, where guardians also entered the pantheon. An early Chinese example is a stele on which two of them flank a seated Buddha cF1G 11 . Like the other figures, they are shown in a rather static pose, wearing waistcloths, falling in stylized folds. They bear a distinct similarity to later Japanese guardians, not just in the parrying gestures, but in the top-knot of hair, the furrowed brows, the open and closed mouths, and the muscular limbs. Their robes, though, held loosely together with ribbons, still cover the shoulders. Two Chinese guardians made a few decades later have fully exposed torsos and wear the waistcloths that Japanese guardians invariably wear cF1G. aJ. The musculature is much more pronounced, with a curious row of bumps across the ribs. This stylization appears to have become a convention at this time, one that was later adopted in Japan. The poses are now more dynamic, with tilted hips and one leg forward, heightened by a ribbon the figures grasp in one hand. The second arm and hand, with which they may have been holding the other end of the ribbon, is missing in both cases.

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Buddha on the Path to Nirvana Pakistan,

second - t hird ce ntury On t he extreme left a bea rded guardian f igure.

se riou sly damaged on the right si de

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7 Stele with the Buddha Shokyamuni China, 536 The Buddha is f lanke d by two guardian figure s

(above the lions)

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Two Temple Guardians China, c. 550- 77

When Buddhism reached Japan by way of Korea in the mid sixth century, its pictorial tradition was embraced at the same time. The oldest Japanese guardians date from the seventh century, but the most appealing early examples are two magnificent statues [F1G. 9J made around 711 for HoryOji, a temple near the capital Heijo (now Nara). Made of clay around an armature of wood and copper, they leave no doubt as to the importance the sculptors attached to conveying vitality and energy. Th is desire for naturalism is typical of eighth-century Japanese sculpture, probably following the example of China; at this time there was a considerable movement of monks between the two countries. In the ninth and tenth centuries the emphasis shifted towards refinement and stylization, influenced by the imperial court in Heiankyo (present-day Kyoto). In theory the country was ruled by the nobles at court, but in practice warlords in the provinces became increasingly powerful. In the midtwelfth century the situation deteriorated dramatically. Changing coalitions of feuding clans fought one another, and there followed decades of bloodshed and destruction on a huge scale. In the eleventh month of 1180 Todaiji in Nara, dedicated to the great Buddha and the most important temple in the country, was reduced to rubble. With the country reeling from the shock of this tragedy, the new ruler, Shogun Yoritomo, who had emerged victorious from the struggle, hastened to set up a programme of reconstruction. New sculptures had to be made, of course, and to do the work the leaders chose a rising school from Nara, famed for its powerful, energetic style that reflected the panache of the new warrior elite. In defining their idiom they harked back to the naturalistic tradition of the eighth century, adding to it such elements from the Ch inese mainland as the use of jewellery draped around the body.

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Two Temple Guardians Japan, c. 711 Nara, HOryOji

The new style emerges in all its glory in the guardians for the restored Todaiji 1F1G. 10J. They were made under the supervision of Unkei and Kaikei, the two leading exponents of the new school, who enhanced the naturalism with a high degree of expressiveness and dynamism. These towering figures, more than eight metres tall, with their taut muscles, intense expressions and sumptuous flowing garments, are unsurpassed. Unkei and Kaikei's masterpieces set the bar high for future generations, and although a great deal of outstanding sculpture was made in the decades after 1200, the style gradually lost its freshness in the following centuries. Although the Rijksmuseum guardians cannot really compete with the great early masterpieces, their vitality suggests that they were not made all that much later. Today there are still more than a hundred and fifty pairs of guardians throughout Japan in their often centuries-old locations - and they are still being made, for new temples and for temples that have never had a pair of guardians [F1G.11J .

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10 Two Temple Guordions Japan. 1203 Nara. TOdalji

~:t

11 Two Tern I Entsuba Guardians (1905-2003)uz0 Japan, 1978 Tokyo, lkegami Ho nmonji

DEEPER MEANINGS Underlying the simple, unambiguous function of guardians are layers of deeper meaning, which are different for each school in Buddhism. Few visitors to the temples would have been aware of it, because this knowledge was only shared with initiates. Of all the Japanese Buddhist schools, Zen is probably the best known outside the country, but the Rijksmuseum's guardians come from another tradition, esoteric Buddhism. They were made for a Shingon temple. Shingon is one of the two mainstream schools of esoteric Buddhism. Guardians belong to a group of Buddhist divinities with a deterrent function, known as the vajrapani. In their hands they hold a vajra mace, a weapon of Indian origin. In Shingon this represents the wisdom that is as hard and indestructible as a diamond (vajra). This true knowledge of the ideal - not earthly - world triumphs over illusions, evil influences and ignorance. The weapon held by the Rijksmuseum's guardians has one point - some have three or five - symbolizing that everything is one csEEF1G.26J . One end stands for Buddha, the other for living creatures: two aspects of the same divine phenomenon. Temple guardians always come in pairs - one has his mouth closed, while the other's is open. In accordance with the viewing direction in Japanese art, from right to left, the latter usually stood on the right of the gatehouse and his tight-lipped companion was on the left (confusingly, it is the other way round in a few of the most famous temples in Japan, such as Todaiji in Nara 1sEE F1G.101 ). The guardian with his mouth open makes the sound 'a' and is called Agyo. The other, Ungyo, makes the sound 'un'. These are the first and last syllables in Siddham (a special script used in rendering texts in Sanskrit, the classical language of India) and together stand for all possible sounds. These figures thus contain all knowledge and compassion, in all conceivable forms. Visitors walking between them as they enter the temple site acquire this wisdom symbolically, and that - in simple terms - makes the guardians' house a portal to the world of true knowledge. In Shingon Buddhism, moreover, each sound and its accompanying symbol itself possesses power (as an amulet, for instance) and they can be used together as a formula to

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make someth ing happen or to summon something up. The idea in the case of the temple guardians' portal is that the ideal world can be opened by sounds. This is related to the esoteric concept of the three categories of human action - physical, vocal and spiritual - which are also present, in hidden form, in Budd has. A believer can become skilled in each of these three categories of action: with gestures and bearing (physical}, by reciting sutras (vocal) and by visualizing the true (higher) reality through special ritual symbols known as mandalas (spiritual). Thus he models himself on the Buddha and can immediately realize his own Buddha nature, which he already carries with him - the enlightenment contained in every human being. This is an important point in esoteric Buddhism: enlightenment is not something that comes from outside; it is already present at the core of every individual and can be developed by everyone. The opening and closing of the guardians' mouths and of the doors to the temple site are associated with opening the gateway to the truth - the Buddha character concealed in everyone - and closing the gate with the three categories of human action, which is contaminated by desires, illusions and ignorance. There is yet another layer of meaning. Agyo is sometimes called Naraen, after the Indian deity Narayana, the first being. In that form he is the creator of mankind. Agyo is also equated with Bonten (Brahma in Sanskrit), one of the three most important gods in Hinduism and the creator of the universe. Bonten also appears in Buddhism, as the protector of Buddha and the bringer of language and writing to man. This is why he articulates the first sound, 'a'. The other statue, Ungyo, is also called Misshaku, and symbolizes the hidden, secret 'path': the true enlightenment that is present under the skin in the world and is symbolized by the sound 'un'. Agyo and Ungyo together are thus all-encompassing. This idea is repeated on the gate in the form of the sun carved in the beam above Agyo. This is the symbol of Dainichi, the sun Buddha, whose mercy shines down on all. His compassion is symbolized by the Siddham sound 'a'. Dainichi also stands for wisdom, the knowledge of the real world, symbolized by the sound 'un', and the lunar cycle of complete consciousness, depicted on the other side of the gate. In the case of the

temple of the Rijksmuseum guardians this is depicted as a crescent rsEE FIG. 11. aN THE LEFTJ to distinguish it from the sun, but it should have been round - a full, and thus complete, moon. In esoteric Buddhism images are filled with powe r. In a dedication ritual performed after they have been completed, a fragment of ene rgy split off from the all -present store is called upon to enter the statue. This obviously has to be done with great care. During this 'eye opening' ceremony the pupils are drawn in and the figure comes to life. In 2013 a ceremony was staged in the Rijksmuseum to welcome the museum's two guardians to their new place. Needless to say, the eyes were not painted in on this occasion, but the figures were dedicated, so that, if one so wishes, they can be 'officially' venerated rF1Gs. 12, 13J.

29 12 The ceremony to dedicate the Rijksmu seum guardians by monks from Daikakuji, Kyoto

The monks proffer an arrangement of branches of the evergreen juniper bush. They wea r face ma sks so as

Asian Pavilion,

not to defi le the offe rings

13 October 2013

with their impure breath

13 The high priest (monzeki)

performs the dedication ritual

IWAYAJI

14 Eleven ·Heoded Kannan Japan, 1306

Origina l location: Yokota, lwayaji

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The Rijksmuseum guardians come from lwayaji, a temple in a hilly region in the west of Japan, not far from Yokota, a town some six hundred kilometres to the west of Tokyo. According to tradition, lwayaji was founded in the mid-eighth century by the legendary monk Gyogi, and a temple document records that it was he who had the two guardians made. Both stories are apocryphal, however, stemming solely from Gyogi 's great popularity. It is likely that we have to look much further back in time for the beginning of lwayaji. Several Japanese temples have been built on sites that had long been significant, as the name lwayaji - the Temple of the Rock Dwelling - suggests. The sanctuary stands at the foot of a cliff on the way to a remarkable fissure in the rock caused by erosion of the black granite. Before the introduction of Buddhism in the mid-sixth century there was an indigenous religion in Japan which held, among other things, that higher powers (kami) lived in the elements of nature. If a tree, a stone or an island was an unusual shape, this could be a sign of such a presence. Kami were thought to favour hilly terrain and there was a deep-rooted belief that divine powers and the souls of ancestors lived in the hills. This is borne out by the numerous graves containing human remains and countless objects found on the slope of lwayaji. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, a priest called Yuen, an influential man, raised the status of the temple, among other things by having a near-by shrine moved to the foot of the hill. Land was always attached to a shrine and the income it generated made lwayaji an important centre of power; at that time temples could evolve into large com plexes in which not just monks, but non-initiates - sometimes even a whole militia - would live. The new prosperity called for a new building and new sculptures. One of the works commissioned was the principal image of veneration that is found in the main hall of every Buddhist temple, in lwayaji 's case an eleven -headed Kannan [F1G.14J. Kannan (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, Guanyin in Chinese) is a bodhisattva - a being that has achieved enlightenment but remains among people to support and assist them - which exists in many

manifestations. In Japan people venerated this eleven-headed form and prayed to it for a speedy recovery from illness. Inscriptions on the statue tell us that it was made in 1306, two years after the great hall, on YOen's instructions. The maker is recorded as one Kyoshin, possibly a local artist who had trained in Kyoto, the centre for sculpture. There are no other known works by the sculptor, nor is it clear whether he was also responsible for making the temple guardians. It is to be expected that they were made in this time of growth and prosperity. The temple appears in the records again just after 1500. Japan had once more become involved in a protracted civil war. Local lords were embroiled in ferocious clashes over territory and treason was the order of the day among the constantly changing alliances of warlords. The region around lwayaji was dragged into the conflict in 1514, when the neighbouring ruler, Amago Tsunehisa, was victorious. The temple, both of the guardians and the Kannon were damaged in the skirmishes. Some years later, in 1531, lwayaji was caught up in violence again when one of Tsunehisa's sons rebelled against his father and joined with a rival clan to stir up an armed revolt, which was only narrowly defeated. Tsunehisa, by now in his seventies, must have felt the weight of his deeds during his lifetime. In 1520 he had given instructions for repair works on the temple, but these had been interrupted by the recent uprising. The thirty-eight-yearold priest Ka i'en had been hired at that time to lead the restoration project. In a temple document dating from 1535 it appears that he still held that pos ition then and gave instructions for the rebuilding of a gatehouse, or possibly the building of a new one; the work was finished the following year. The master sculptor Kosho was brought from Kyoto to repair the sculptures. He restored the eleven -headed Kann on and made new sculptures, including those of the guard ians of t he four compass directions around the prin ci pa l st atue [F1G.15J and one of the supposed founder, Gyogi. We learn from Kai 'en's journa l that Kosho also worked on the templ e gu ard ians in 1539.

15 The Guardians of

the Four Compass Directions Japan, 153 9

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Original location: Yokota , lwayaj i Cu rrent locaton: Tsushima, JOrenji

Remarkably little can be found about the later history of lwayaji. The temple must have functioned until the nineteenth century, at any rate, since there is a record of monks being trained there in 1835. Its decline probably started later in the century, after difficult times for Buddhism around 1870, when many temples lost their income. In the twentieth century, particularly after 1945, more and more people left the Japanese countryside and this, coupled with the steady ageing of the population, must have meant that the number of monks gradually decreased, until the temple was eventually abandoned. The gate still stands open on the steep path to lwayaji. Empty, like the temple itself [F1Gs 16. m; all the statues have been moved elsewhere. The eleven-headed Kannon and the guardians of the four compass directions have gone to other locations in Japan, the two temple guardians found a home in Amsterdam in 2007.

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16, 17

The gatehouse (be low) and the main hall of lwayaji Yokota '

DATING THE IWAYAJI GUARDIANS The two Rijksmuseum guardians are representative of the naturalistic tradition which, as we have seen, became popular in Japan in the eighth century. The figures are modelled with power and vitality, with elegantly flowing garments and impressively muscular bodies. Their expressive force is somewhat compromised by the present irregular colouring and the loss of detail in the carving that has happened over time, for instance in the swollen veins on the muscles of the arms. It is only in three-dimensional images of the guardian figures, omitting the polychromy, that the crispness of the carving really shows up [F1G.1sJ . We know neither the maker of the figures nor the exact date when they were made, but the sculptor must certainly be sought among the descendants of the Kei School established by Unkei and his contemporaries. The vitality is not as great as that achieved by the sculptors of the early thirteenth century, but the execution has not yet deteriorated to the rather stiff, often uninspired formula that appeared in the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A fourteenth-century origin for the two guardians is also likely given lwayaji's period of prosperity in the decades after 1300 and the fact that new sculptures were made for the temple at that time. The possibility that Kyoshin, the maker of the Kan non in 1306, also made the guardians cannot be ruled out. The authorship is all the more difficult to establish because the convention of the serene bodhisattva requires a very different design from that for the temple guardians with their terrifying expressions: the flat, sleek folds of the Kannon's robe reflect his meditative character, whereas the rounded, voluminous garments worn by the temple guardians emphasize their active poses. Kyoshin or not, a date in the early fourteenth century becomes even more likely when the Rijksmuseum guardians are compared with other examples, such as a pair completed in 1339 by a master of the Kei School rF1G. 19J .

18 Th ree-dimensional image of t he Rijksmuseum Ar;;o without decoration

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19 Two Temple Guardians

KOsei (active In Nara, first half of the fourteenth century) Japan, 1339 Yoshino, Kinpusenjl

Intriguingly there are a number of inscriptions on the inside of Agyt/s head [F1G.20J . One appears to provide a clue to a more precise dating: at the top is a text referring to damage to the guardians' gatehouse around 1338-42. However, research has revealed that this inscription was probably not added until around 1900, so it cannot serve as proof that the statues were made in the fourteenth century. There is, though, a reference to Kosho's restoration of the guardians in 1539, as the high priest Kai 'en's journal also stated, and of the involvement of the latter in the repairs to lwayaji. Then, in the middle inscription, there is a cryptic reference to a mysterious incident in 1895, concerning a restoration after 'the head was stolen and returned 20 days later'. The local newspapers for that year do not provide any explanation. The note gives the name of the man who carried out the repairs, an as yet unidentified sculptor called Shogan.

42 20 Inscriptions on the inside of Agyo·s face

Research into the Rijksmuseum guardians has yielded a wealth of data about the decoration. This, taken in conjunction with what we know about their history, allows us to sketch a fairly accurate picture of the composition and nature of the successive layers.

EXAMINING THE FIGURES The earliest Japanese statues are carved from a single piece of wood, but from the late twelfth century onwards the bodies were built up from long, hollowed-out parts. This meant it was possible to make larger, lighter figures that could take on a lively, realistic pose because the body no longer had to follow the vertical line of the tree trunk. The relatively light weight of the Rijksmuseum guardians leads us to suspect that the torsos are indeed hollow. The arms and legs were usually made separately from solid elements - and in all probability are here, too. The guardians' heads appear to have been put together from four hollowed-out segments: the face and the back of the head, and two side pieces. The hinoki (Japanese cypress) found in many Japanese sculptures also appears to have been used for the Rijksmuseum guardians. This type of wood, which has a straight grain, is easy to carve and resistant to woodworm and rot. Despite the favourable properties of the material, the statues have suffered considerably from their long exposure to the elements, in a climate with hot summers and heavy rain and snow in the winter. Even though they were standing under cover in a gatehouse, the open wooden housing offered no protection from the considerable fluctuations in temperature and humidity. The preservation of such figures is dependent on the layers of lacquer used for the decoration. The base is the sap of the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum), which oxidizes in humid conditions into a hard, impermeable layer that nonetheless remains slightly flexible. The coating provides a good buffer against changes in humidity, and insects do not stand a chance. Japanese Buddhist statues were traditionally finished with three principal layers. The first was a layer of black lacquer, on top of which went a filler to smooth out irregularities; joins were reinforced with strips of hemp dipped in a strong adhesive. This was followed by a layer of clay and another coat of black lacquer, onto which a mixture of pulverized shells was sprinkled to create a ground for the decoration. Last of all came the polychromy, sometimes with a pattern in rel ief and gold leaf.

The Original Decoration Regrettably, virtually nothing has been found of the original, probably early-fourteenth-century decoration: during restorations over the centuries this was scoured off down to the ground layer, traces of which survive. What is clear, though, is that the seams around the mouth, nose and eyes were not reinforced with hemp, probably to preserve the expressive power of the carving. It is possible that some of the original polychromy can still be seen there. On the lips and tongue there is a very thin layer of red on a bright orange base that was applied directly to the wood. The eyes were first painted white all over; the irises consist of a brown ground that was gilded, and the pupils were drawn in with precise circles and then filled in in black. Red was the customary skin colour for Buddhist deities with a deterrent or irate nature. In their full glory, the guardians must have looked very impressive indeed, particularly when we remember that their waistcloths were also brightly decorated. In Agyo's case that may have been green with the turned-back areas of the fabric in blue, while the colours were reversed for Ungyo.

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The Restoration in 7539 Small fragments of intermediate layers were found in places, which could indicate that the original decoration was retouched here and there. This may well have happened during the repair in 1539, when, according to the priest Kai'en's journal, Kosho 'restored and relacquered' the guardians. Parts of the feet, secured in large blocks with wide pegs, were replaced at that time. There appears to be damage where the feet attach to the legs, possibly caused because the statues had been pushed over with force.

There are also strong indications that the wood was already weathered . In places, the new layers were applied to ridged, worn wood, where the softer cellulose material between the growth rings had worn away more deeply than the rings themselves - a sign that the wood had been exposed to the elements. This tells us that the polychromy had been missing from certain areas for some considerable time, perhaps because the prolonged periods of hostilities in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries meant that there was little opportunity to maintain the guardians properly. Kosho removed all the polychromy, including the white crushed shell underlayer, and filled damaged areas in the woodwork. He replaced some of the hemp reinforcements in the joins on the body with new strips of slightly thinner, bias-cut cloth. After this groundwork, he applied the base layers and the painted decoration. The body was covered with a dark, intense red obtained from very finely ground vermilion, which can still be seen in a number of places, including Agyo's lips and tongue 1F1G.21i . The eyes were also repainted on top of the old original decoration. Even the eyelashes and the veins in the whites of the eyes were put in [FIG. 22] .

46 21 Detail of AgyO"s mouth; the lips and tongue sti ll bear traces of the red that was applied to the who le body in 1539

22 Detai l of AgyO's left eye.

showing how meticu lously it was painted in 1539

Interventions up to the End of the Nineteenth Century The 1539 polychromy was retouched for maintenance once or twice in subsequent centuries, probably followed by a long period when essentially nothing was done. The date of the next repainting is uncertain. The theft of Agyo's head in 1895 may have prompted a decision to treat the statues in their entirety. In any event parts of the feet were replaced again. It is also clear that the existing polychromy was roughly sanded down and irregularities were levelled with a filler that is lighter in colour than the older layers. The white ground layer was applied directly on top of this, without the usual lacquer undercoat; the motifs we now see on the garments are part of it. The decoration is far from sumptuous: it was executed with a water-based paint and the relief patterns were made mechanically. They were cast in a mould, fastened to paper and then glued to the white shell layer of the substrate in imitation of the decorations that were built up by hand in the past [FIG.231 . In the more protected areas the decoration of the fabric can still be seen, carried out in the 'rainbow' technique, where motifs are built up of parallel bands of colour from light to dark [FIG. 241 . There are also painted foliate motifs [F1G.2s1 , sometimes found only as underdrawings in the white ground layer.

23 Deta il of Ungyo·s waistclot h.

showi ng the relief patterns on t he shell layer that served as the gro und for the

decoration

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25 Detail of UngyO's walstcloth with fo li ar motifs painted on the shel l layer

24 Detail of AgyO's waistcloth with bands of paint shading from light to dark

Twentieth -Century Restorations This late polychromy was also freshened up, in even simpler techniques, probably at some time in the twentieth century. Even later, perhaps when the statues were removed from the temple and found their way into the trade - we do not know when this happened - the guardians were refurbished one more time. Three of the hands were replaced; only Agyo's upraised hand is original cF1G.26J . These protruding parts are, of course, extremely vulnerable and in many guardian figures the fingers have been worn away by the constant touches of the faithful. The whole surface of the statues is covered with white, red and black retouches to even out the pockmarked appearance. Noticeable joins have been retouched with a pattern of dots to make them less visually obtrusive. The hands have been treated so that it looks as if they bear traces of old polychromy, more in line with the arms. An interesting question is whether the pockmarked look should be modified and, if so, how. Watercolour could be used to tone down some areas of colour somewhat so that they are less conspicuous, and the three-dimensional parts would gain in expression by restoring the carving. Aside from any other considerations, however, it remains a fact that museum objects are entitled to bear the visible scars of a long and eventful life.

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26 The origina l left hand of Agyo

LITERATURE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Two Temple Guardians Japan, fourteenth century Original location:

Two Temple Guardians China, c. 550- 77

Limestone

Yokota. lwayaji

h. approx. 109 cm Zurich, Museum Rletberg h. 220 cm Inv. no. RCH 142 Amsterdam. Rljksmu seum Gift of Eduard von der Heydt Inv. nos. AK-RAK-2007-1-8, A Two Temple Guardians Purchased with the Japan,c. 711 support of the BankGiro Nara, HOryOji Loterij, the M.J. Drabbe Clay fends, made avai l able by h. 378.5 and 379.9 cm ABN -AMRO, the Mondriaan 5tichting and the Vereniging 10 Two Temple Guardians Rembrandt, with additional Japan, 1203 funding from the Prins Nara, TOdaijl Bernhard Cultuurfonds Wood h. 842.3 and 836.3 cm A little boy crawls between a guardian's legs during 11

Wood, traces of polychrome

a festival in Manmanji, a temple in Matsudo

Votive boards on the gatehouse of Manmanji, Matsudo 4

Straw sandals for one of the temple guardians

at Kinpusenji , Yoshino Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Rochishin Destroying a Guardian Figure c. 1887- 90

Colour woodcut 728 x 246 mm

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Inv. no. RP -P-1982-287 Purchased with the support of the f .G. Waller- fonds 6

Buddha an the Path to Nirvana Pakistan,

second- third century Slate, 23.8 x 35 cm

London, The British Mu seum Inv. no. OA 1913.11 -8.17 Gift of Lt. Col. G.A. Dale

Stele with the Buddha Shakyamunl China. 536

Two Temple Guardians

Entsuba Katsuzo (1905-2003) Japan. 1978

R. Bowring, The Religious Traditions of Japan. 500- 1600, Cambridge 2005

16, 17 The gatehouse (fig. 17) and the main hall of lwayaji, Yokota

v. Harris and K. Matshushima, Komalwro. The Renaissance of Japanese Sculpture, 1185-1333,

18 Three-dimensional image of the Rijksmuseum AgyO

without decoration

London 1991

19 Two Temple Guardians

w. Hiromitsu

and R. Goepper, Enlightenment Embodied. The Art al the Japanese Buddhist Sculptor (7th - 14th Centuries),

KOsei (active in Nara, first half of the fourteenth century) Japan, 1339

Yoshino, Kinpusenji

New York 1997

Wood, h. 544.8 and 541.2 cm

A. Lorne. De tempe/wochters: onderzoek naar de moteriolen en de techniek. unpublished, 2009

20 Inscriptions on the inside of AgyO's face 21 Detail of AgyO's mouth 22 Detail of AgyO's left eye

K. Nishikawa and E.J. Sano, The Great Age al Japanese Buddhist Sculpture AO 600- 1300,

23 Detail of Ungyo·s waistcloth

Tokyo, lkegami Honmonji

24 Detail of AgyO's waistcloth

fort Worth 1982

Wood h. 360 cm

25 Detail of UngycYs waistcloth

H. van der Veere, Buddha's en Kami. De antwikkeling van de Japanese religie, Am sterdam

12 The ceremony to dedicate

the Rijksmuseum guardians

26 The original left hand of Agyo

2003

by monks from Oaikakuji, Kyoto

13 The high priest (manzeki) performs the dedication ritual 14 Eleven ·Heoded Kannan Japan, 1306

Original location: Yokota, lwayaji Wood with glided lacquer h. 97.9 cm

Private collection 15 The Guardians of

the Four Compass Directions Japan, 1539

Original location: Yokota, lwayaJi

Current location: Tsushima, JOrenji Wood with polychromy h. approx. 90 cm

limestone h. 103.5 cm Zurich. Mu seum Rletberg Inv. no. RCH 111 Gift of Eduard von der Heydt

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