Futaiji Temple: Reliquary Cabinet

JAPAN, Nara; Kamakura to Muromachi period

This black lacquered reliquary cabinet is listed as an Important Cultural Property. Standing on a Sumeru base, the corners and sides of the cabinet are decorated with gilt bronze plates. There are doors in the front and rear of the cabinet. Relics are enshrined in the center inside of the cabinet. Inlaid in the front is a representation of a five-layer stupa, which in its typical three-dimensional form consists of a cube, sphere, pyramid, hemisphere, and jewel. Each part of the stupa contains a Sanskrit seed syllable. Inside the rear of the cabinet are two panels with an illustration of the Buddha’s parinirvana and an image of Kasuga Myojin, the deity of Kasuga Shrine. The insides of the four doors have imposing portraits of the Four Heavenly Kings.