Kiyomizudera Temple Main Hall: Mahoraga

JAPAN, Kyoto; Muromachi period

This is one of the Twenty-Eight Classes of Dharma Protectors located in the Kiyomizudera Temple’s main hall. It is assembled from several pieces of cypress wood which were painted and gilded. The statue depicts a wrathful mahoraga who wears an openwork headdress featuring a Dharma wheel with a stupa above it. Behind the head is a flaming Dharma wheel nimbus.
The engorged face has two pairs of glaring eyes, one above the other, and a vertical wisdom eye above those. Belying the snarling mouth and flaring nostrils, the bulky figure is engaged in playing the lute. A shawl is knotted about the shoulders and is the only piece of clothing that covers the upper body. A richly textured skirt is folded at the waist, which seems to sway with the music.