Unknown
Japanese
Heads of Ni-O (Buddhist Gate Guardians) , 1392 - 1573 Muromachi period
wood
SBMA, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Women's Board in memory of Frances D. Funke
1966.33.1-2
Full bodied Gate Guardians outside a temple in Tokyo.
RESEARCH PAPER
The History and Meaning
Traditionally located in the portico either side of the south entrance gate to a Buddhist temple in East Asia, these are the heads of the full figure sculptures of the Ni-O Gate Guardians. Their faces, and particularly their eyes reflect their fierce dedication to doing their job.
These guardians represent the “kongo-jin”: powerful but benevolent kings who guard against any evil spirits entering the temple. As mythic figures they combined Indian Mythology with Japanese folk beliefs and were brought into the Buddhist symbol system as intermediaries between the old beliefs and the new: Buddhism. They are believed to represent the two opposing forces of the universe.
The Two Kings: Kongo Rikishi (Vajravira) and Misshaku Rikishi (Garbhavira) are called the Ni-O. Heads shaved or with just the top knot (chignon), and dressed either in a simple loin cloth, or in full armor and standing in threatening poses, they are described as “the two (Ni) strong men who hold the “vajra “ (kongo or “o”). The vajra or the diamond thunderbolt is the symbol of “the indestructible human spirit”. They are not enlightened figures like the Bodhisattvas and, therefore, not objects of worship. Rather they are humble beings who serve as “guards”. They are portrayed as fierce and muscular rather than calm and passive.
The head of Kongo Rikishi, defender of the night, is on the left side in the SBMA Museum gallery even as he would be on the left side of the temple, as you would enter it. In Indian mythology, he is Vajravira and in Chinese: Jingang (meaning latency).
Often painted in green, he would be have a dynamic pose, with one hand reaching downwards, the other holding a staff with the vajra or thunder bolt on the end. The vajra is “hard as a diamond and swift like lightening”. He might also have a small bell (kongorei) with an identical image of himself on the handle of the bell signifying his unlimited potential for creativity. Most important of his attributes, however, is his closed mouth. It represents the sound of “ummmm”. The last sound of Sanskrit alphabet, it symbolizes the end of life: an act that is complete. It is also said his mouth is closed because he is inhaling through his nose: gathering his power to strike or be creative.
The head of Misshaku Rikishi, the guardian of the day, is on the right at the Museum, as he would be at the temple entrance. His Indian name is Garbhavira and is the Chinese equivalent of Lishi (expression). When depicted in Amitaba Buddhism: as Fudo Myo-o or Achalanatha, he is a king of the Magical Sciences, who saves people with his magical incantations.
Often painted red, this king is portrayed either portrayed in a pose that is the mirror image of Kongo Rikishi or with a rope noose with which he will catch the evil doers or herd the faithful together. He is one of the main characters in Kabuki Plays. His mouth is open making the sound of “Ahhhh”: the first syllable of Sanskrit. He symbolizes the beginning of life. He is exhaling; unleashing his enormous power or creative energy.
Presented together, they are the complement of each other and are one. Their two sounds create one: the sacred sound of the universe in balance: “ah-ommmm” or “Ommmm”.
The Ni-0 Gate Guardians or kings persist as folk images which are often used in applied and decorative arts such as on the Netsuke or serve as inspiration for modern cartoon characters. They have even appeared as symbols in the family crests for descendents from the Sugi clan.
At some Buddhist and many Shinto temples, these Gate Guardians have been replaced by a pair of lions that take on similar shapes and poses. The fierce looking, closed mouth lion equivalent of Kongo Rikishi has short horns and looks like a Korean breed of dog: a komainu. Misshaku Rikishi’s equivalent, with the open mouth, has a curly main and blunt nose like a Pekinese Dog. He holds a smoothly finished Buddhist jewel to represent omnipotence. This lion is also known as “karashishi”: the Chinese lion. (See the SBMA Lions.)
The Style
The SMBA Ni-O Gate Guardians were carved during the Muromachi Periods (1336-1573): but have characteristics of the previous Kamakura Period (1185-1336) style.
Because the warrior class ruled during the Kamakura Period, a fierce warrior image for the gate guardian figures was popular. The Ni-O kings were clearly superheroes, but they are also realistic: their gestures break out of the classical poses of previous sculptural styles and become emotional beings. In Kamakura style, they would have been so emotional that you would have seen the tightness of the muscles in their faces, and an extreme intensity, which would have caused their eyes to bulge out from their faces.
The way the SBMA Gate Guardians are carved illustrates a stylistic change from the Kamakura Style to the Muromachi Period style. The carving is cleaner and less expressive: the image is more stylized. For example, the topknot is symbolic rather than realistic: the ribbon that holds the topknot contains it and is not wildly flowing in the wind. The features flow one into the other and are not as angular and undercut, as they would be if they were true Kamakura style.
The Role of the Artisan
The SBMA Ni-O Guardians demonstrate the expertise of Japanese woodcarving techniques that had begun with temple construction in the Nara Period (710-794). Many of these same woodcarving techniques are still used today by master craftsmen who make the masks for No Drama and Kabuki theatre. Arts made by hand are considered the finest of arts in Japan so that even today these wood carvers are considered “National Treasures."
By their time in the Murmachi Period, figures like the SBMA Ni-O guardians would have been made by guild artists in the official Buddhist workshops. Each guild had it’s own way of portraying the figures depending on the original master’s conception.
To dominate the entryway of these temples, the whole figure needed to be between 10-15 feet. So rather than carve it from one piece of wood, it would have been made from many pieces joined together. In this “yosegi zukuri” technique of wood sculpture, each body part was made by the artisan who specialized in it. In the studio environment, with many individual artisans each making their part, a very large sculpture could be completed in a relatively short time. This supported the more rapid proliferation of Buddhism and the increased need for local temples in this period.
Material
These heads are probably carved from Japanese Cypress: although they could be Japanese Cedar, or Red Pine.
Without a wealthy patronage to support the making of elaborate temple and mythic sculptures, materials needed to stay simple. “Wood” was commonly available especially in the rural areas. The earliest sculptures were often made by untrained artisans (perhaps even the monks). And, the soft pliable character of wood made it much easier to carve than stone.
But perhaps the most important reason for their being made of wood, is that the Shinto teachings state the more natural form in which the material is left, the more spiritual the objects will be. Even in the native folklore tradition, it is believed that unpainted sculpture retains the original “kami” or spirit of the original tree. And though they were sometimes painted, more often the bodies of the earlier Ni-O gate guardians were left natural.
Technique
The SBMA Gate Guardian Heads would each have been made from a single block of wood chosen for its size and texture. The left head was full enough to allow the eyebrows to be carved from it, while the artisan for the head on the right had to add the eyebrows. A substitute left eyebrow has been fitted in but the right eyebrow is missing.
To create these heads, the artisans used a variety of flat or curved chisels and adzes which were invented by the guild master and forged for the specific types of cuts from 1/4” wide and greater to those that are just 1/16."
The artisan would study the natural vertical grain of the wood block before it was carved. (For both SBMA Ni-O Gate Guardians, this natural grain can be seen on the back of the heads.) Then, the style and location of the features having been determined, this grain would be artificially recreated in the ways the features were carved and connected to each other. They are meant to appear to have been created out of a natural knots left from branches. For example the carved patterns around the left cheek bone of the Kongo Rikishi curve and finally taper from large to small in the same pattern, as the natural rings around the branch would have.
With a gradual succession of cuts from larger to smaller, this same pattern has been skillfully repeated on other features of the face. Each deliberate cut flows from the natural pattern of grains that are adjacent to it.
Comparing the right jowl of the left head (Kongo)and the left jowl of the right head (Misshaku), it is possible to see on the left head that the cuts were created with chisels to dramatize the expression, whereas on the right head, the artisan was able to use more of the natural grain pattern.
In contrast to this masterly way features of the faces are carved, the necks are carved in a haphazard blunt way. Since they were just being shaped to serve as pegs to hold the head into the body it did not matter how carefully they were carved. A hole remains where a metal pin was inserted to hold the head to the body.
Remnants of the paint can be seen in the white residue on the sides of both of the heads where the carving ends and the natural log begins. The lips were originally painted red, and the pupils: white and black. Blue/black paint could have been used on the hair.
The heads have cracked either from weathering or from uneven drying when the paint or lacquer was applied. With age and weathering, the most exposed surfaces, the tops of the heads and noses, have turned black and all over the head there are left over marks of insect infestation.
These “flaws and imperfections” are considered an important part of the beauty. It is a principle believed to be adopted from Korea to Japan and reflected in Zen aesthetic principles. The asymmetry, age, and imperfection of the heads reflect the state of natural transcendence of these object from one state to another state: the “spirit” or natural quality of the wood itself is taking over again despite the artist’s attempt to make it into something else.
Prepared for the SBMA Docent Council by Gail Elnicky: October 2002
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Major sources used for this and from which specific names and definitions were chosen.
Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols, Meher McArthur, Thames and Hudson, London 2002
History of Japanese Art , Penelope Mason , Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1993
Other Useful Sources of Information on this Topic:
Previous papers of docents “p.s.” . and Juliet Bertita – Spier
How to Look at Japanese Art , Stephen Addiss, New York 1996
Symbols of Japan , Merrily Baird , Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York, 2001.
Japanese Art, Joan Stanley Baker, Thames and Hudson, ltd., London, 1984
Japan Encyclopedia, Louis Frederic, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2002
The Arts of Japan: An Illustrated History, Hugo Munsterberg, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont, 1957