Kongobuji Temple Acala Hall: Eight Attendants

JAPAN, Wakayama, Ito; Kamakura period

These statues are attendants of Acala. Inscriptions within the moon-shaped interiors record that the figures of Eko, Eki, Shojobika, Ugubaga, Kongara and Seitaka were carved by the famous sculptor Unkei. The attendants Anokuta and Shitoku were extra additions created some time during the late Kamakura period (1185–1333) to Nanbokucho period (1336–1392). All were listed as National Treasures in 1955.
The expressions, objects in their hands and the colors of each of the figures are based on a text called the Essentials of the Secret Dharma. Their eyes are inlaid with semi-precious stones, while the garments are coated in well-preserved bright colors and gold foil. All the figures are full faced, solidly built and have a life-like appearance. There is energy in their resolute expression and the way they carry their attributes.
Of the figures illustrated, the ornamented Eko has curly hair hanging down to his shoulders. His head is circled by a golden fillet and he clasps a three-forked vajra in the right hand and a lotus in the left hand. The white bodied Kinkara joins his palms in anjali (reverence) mudra while holding a vajra between the thumb and index finger. Cetaka is deep red in color and has hair tied up into five knots. A shawl is knotted about his bare shoulders and a skirt of printed fabric turns down about the waist. He carries a stick in his right hand and a three-pronged vajra in the left hand.