Todaiji Temple Lotus Hall: Narayana and Guhyapada

JAPAN, Nara; Nara period

The guardians Narayana and Guhyapada stand to either side in front of the statue of Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara in Todaiji Temple’s Lotus Hall. They resemble the Four Heavenly Kings and may be from the same workshop. These sculptures datesfrom the golden age of the Nara period (710–794) and was listed as a National Treasure in 1952.
Narayana, completely dressed in armor, lifts his right hand to cast a vajra, which is now missing. The left hand is closed in a fist below the waist, steadying him as he turns to cast the weapon with his weight thrown on his back foot. His clenched face is wrathful and his hair and beard bristle. Guhyapada, on the left, has his hair in a topknot and the double bladed thunderbolt held across his body. He glares as he stands watch with mouth turned down.
The eyes of both figures are inlaid with obsidian. Narayana’s hair and beard are built with dry lacquer upon a wire core. The interior of each statue is set with wooden supports and lacquered. Their clothing is molded in great-detail and painted, the gold or silver gilded sections are ornamented with vine-like patterns or auspicious flowers.