Todaiji Temple: King Taishan
Cypress wood
Todaiji Temple: King Taishan
JAPAN, Nara; Kamakura period
This 14th century sculpture is assembled from many pieces of cypress wood and has eye inlaid with semi-precious stone. The statue depicts King Taishan, one of the Ten Kings of Hell responsible for judging the deceased seven weeks after death. He looks sternly ahead and wears an official’s hat and a belted gown. The long sleeves curve about the figure’s knees as he sits in an informal cross-legged pose that shows his boots. The damaged right hand may have once held a writing brush to record the sentence of the deceased. The figure carries a scepter surmounted by two frowning human heads in the left hand, symbolizing unswayable judgment.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, page 1215.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Todaiji Temple: King Taishan." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, vol. 13, 2016, pp. 1215.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Todaiji Temple: King Taishan" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, 13:1215.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Todaiji Temple: King Taishan. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z (Vol. 13, pp. 1215).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z},
pages = 1215,
title = {{Todaiji Temple: King Taishan}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z},
pages = 1215,
title = {{Todaiji Temple: King Taishan}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}