Taimadera Temple Golden Hall: Four Heavenly Kings

JAPAN, Nara, Katsuragi; Hakuho period

These statues are located on the four corners of the Sumeru platform in the Golden Hall. Apart from the wooden figure of Vaisravana, dating from the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the other three Heavenly Kings are the earliest surviving dry-lacquer statues in Japan. These figures were molded directly onto an inner framework of paulownia wood without the use of sawdust paints, as was the later practice. It is assumed that the pieces and the Maitreya they guard were made in the second half of the 7th century. This set of sculptures was listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1909.
The armored figures stand on evil spirits and have a Dharma wheel nimbus with a lotus flower hub behind their heads. While they may be identified by their iconographical attributes, it is notable that each face is given character rather than merely expressing the conventional warrior function. Dhrtarastra wears a cap over his topknot. He stares ahead as he stands guard with raised sword and the vajra of heavenly authority in his left hand. A wide-sleeved cape is knotted over his armor and reaches to his calves. Beneath the breastplate he wears a deep sleeved robe that also has a gathered upper sleeves. The scholarly Virupaksa is similarly dressed and looks downward with narrowed eyes. He holds a sutra scroll in his left hand and a writing bush in the right hand. The helmeted Virudhaka holds a halberd in his left hand and shouts ferociously.