Antique, Ethnographic, Niō Guardian 仁王 Kongōrikishi (金剛力士) Wooden Japanese Mask!

Description

• An extremely rare, antique, finely carved, ethnographic, used, Japanese wooden mask representing
a powerful Nio Guardian King which are often associated with the Naga Dragon Kings who converted to Buddhism and now act as bodyguards for the Buddha; a
f
ierce scowling face, furrowed brows and showing extreme agitation; expressive, masculine, rage...
• Most often dark red in color... and showcase fanged teeth, crows-feet eyes, and deep creases of the forehead.
• Eyes and teeth are commonly painted in gold.  In this example, the teeth are done in a bronze-gold metal.
• Before Buddhism came to Japan over six centuries ago, people believed that giant and fearful devils lived in or near the mountains and the river.
• And on New Years Eve (February 3rd) everyone thought there may be extreme changes in the winter-climate.
• There were a ceremonies held to repel the demon from the shrine or temple, and this gradually became a custom among the general public.
• On the evening of New Years, people sing to ward off the evil spirit away and for good luck they scatter beans as a sign of the coming spring.
• Exact date unknown, but likely hailing from the Muromachi Period (1338-1573); dating Japanese masks can be extremely difficult as many of the techniques and materials haven't changed over hundreds of years.
• See the Natural Museum in Japan to see what I mean about the unchanged techniques, natural pigments and difficulty in actually judging age:
• 17th Century Mask: http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100431/039/000?mode=simple&d_lang=en&s_lang=en&word=mask&class=&title=&c_e=®ion=&era=¢ury=&cptype=&owner=&pos=65&num=7
• 15th Century Mas: http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100431/003/000?mode=simple&d_lang=en&s_lang=en&word=mask&class=&title=&c_e=®ion=&era=¢ury=&cptype=&owner=&pos=1&num=2
• 7th Century Mask: http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100769/014/000?mode=simple&d_lang=en&s_lang=en&word=mask&class=&title=&c_e=®ion=&era=¢ury=&cptype=&owner=&pos=17&num=6
• Its also a reminder to us westerners that wooden masks actually can last this long...
• Mask is highly aged as attested to the pronounced veins in the forehead, fine carving, patina on the reverse, and the time-loss of the go-fun (crushed oystershell mixed w/animal glues)...
• Hints of the mask's prior red paint are evidenced throughout.
• Minor loss to the back side of the tongue. Hasty repair done to the lower jaw; missing one nail to hold the metal teeth.
• Thinly carved, thick patina from wearing, and extreme attention given to the eye and nose carving on the reverse of the mask.
• Mask is donning a hachimaki (鉢巻, or literally a "helmet-scarf") which is a stylized headband (bandana) in Japanese culture.
• Usually made of red or white cloth, worn as a symbol of perseverance, effort, and/or courage by the wearer.
• The historical origin of hachimaki is uncertain. One theory links the cloth to those worn by early religious ascetics.
• Another theory states that they originated in headbands worn by samurai that kept their helmets on, to absorb perspiration, and keep hair out of their eyes.
• Perhaps the most well known usage of the hachimaki was by the kamikaze pilots toward the end of World War II; Kamikaze pilots would frequently don a hachimaki, usually with the kanji "神風" ("Kamikaze"), before flying to their deaths.
• The sticker on the reverse of this piece is telling. I've seen these cira 1960s stickers before...always placed on the same place on the mask... they are always on high-end, antique, Japanese masks... presumbly artifacts from what once was a large, Japanese collection that has since been dismantled. This one places a collection-catalog-number of '221' on this mask. And also presumably denotes the maker as either "Maiki" or "Muiki" as handwritten to the right of this 221 numbering.
• Mask: 9 in (23cm) Tall x 7 inches (18cm) Wide Case: 10.25” W x 8” D x15” T; Case is not original to the piece.
Niō
(
仁王
) or
Kongōrikishi
(
金剛力士
) are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the
Buddha
standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in
East Asian Buddhism
in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are
dharmapala
manifestations of the
bodhisattva
Vajrapāṇi
, the oldest and most powerful of the
Mahayana
Buddhist
pantheon
. According to Japanese tradition, they travelled with Gautama Buddha to protect him and there are references to this in the
Pāli Canon
as well as the
Ambaṭṭha Sutta
. Within the
generally pacifist tradition
of Buddhism, stories of dharmapalas justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil. The Niō are also seen as a manifestation of
Mahasthamaprapta
, the
bodhisattva
of power that flanks
Amitābha
in
Pure Land Buddhism
and as
Vajrasattva
in
Tibetan Buddhism
.
Manifestations
[
edit
]
Two Niō who stand in the left (Ungyō) and the right (Agyō) of
sanmon
(gate) at
Zentsū-ji
Kongōrikishi
are usually a pair of figures that stand under a separate temple entrance gate usually called
Niōmon
(
仁王門
) in Japan,
hēnghā èr jiàn
g (
哼哈二将
) in China and
Geumgangmun
(
金剛門
) in Korea. The right statue is called
Misshaku Kongō
(
密迹金剛
) and has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first
grapheme
of Sanskrit
Devanāgarī
(अ) which is pronounced "a". The left statue is called
Naraen Kongō
(
那羅延金剛
) and has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह
[
ɦ
]
) which is pronounced "
ɦūṃ
" (हूँ). These two characters together (
a-hūṃ/a-un
) symbolize the birth and death of all things. (Men are supposedly born speaking the "a" sound with mouths open and die speaking an "
ɦūṃ
" and mouths closed.) Similar to
Alpha and Omega
in
Christianity
, they signify "everything" or "all creation". The contraction of both is
Aum
(ॐ), which is Sanskrit for
The Absolute
.
Bust of a Buddhist guardian figure, from China, Yuan Dynasty, 14th century CE. The British Museum
Misshaku Kongō or Agyō
[
edit
]
Misshaku Kongō
(
密迹金剛
), also called
Agyō
(
阿形
, "a"-form, general term open-mouthed statues in aum pair), is a symbol of overt violence: he wields a
vajra
mallet "
vajra-pāṇi
" (a diamond club, thunderbolt stick, or sun symbol)
[2]
and bares his teeth. His mouth is depicted as being in the shape necessary to form the "ah" sound, leading to his alternate name, "Agyō".
Misshaku Kongō
is
Miljeok geumgang
in Korean,
Mìjī jīngāng
in Mandarin Chinese, and
Mật tích kim cương
in Vietnamese. It is equivalent to
Guhyapāda vajra
in Sanskrit.
[3]
Naraen Kongō or Ungyō
[
edit
]
Narayeon Geumgang (Naraen Kongō) at
Hwa-Eom Temple
in
South Korea
Naraen Kongō
(
那羅延金剛
), also called
Ungyō
(
吽形
, "um"-form, general term closed-mouthed statues in aum pair) in Japanese, is depicted either bare-handed or wielding a sword. He symbolizes latent strength, holding his mouth tightly shut. His mouth is rendered to form the sound "
hūṃ
" or "Un", leading to his alternate name "Ungyō".
Naraen Kongō
is
Narayeon geumgang
in Korean,
Nàluóyán jīngāng
in Mandarin Chinese, and
Na la diên kim cương
in Vietnamese.
[3]
Shukongōshin
[
edit
]
Tōdai-ji
Shukongōshin before 1939
A manifestation of
Kongōrikishi
that combines the
Naraen
and
Misshaku Kongō
into one figure is the
Shukongōshin
at
Tōdai-ji
in
Nara
, Japan.
Shukongōshin
(
執金剛神
), literally "
vajra
-wielding spirit", is
Shūkongōshin
or
Shikkongōjin
in Japanese,
Jip geumgang sin
in Korean,
Zhí jīngāng shén
in Mandarin Chinese, and
Chấp kim cang thần
in Vietnamese.
[3]
Sensō-ji
Hellenistic influence
[
edit
]
Kongōrikishi are a possible case of the transmission of the image of the Greek hero
Heracles
to
East Asia
along the
Silk Road
. Heracles was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent
Vajrapani
, the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in
China
and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples. This transmission is part of the wider
Greco-Buddhist
syncretic phenomenon, where
Buddhism
interacted with the
Hellenistic culture
of Central Asia from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD.
[4]
Iconographical evolution from the Greek
Heracles
to Shukongōshin. From left to right:
1)
Heracles
(Louvre Museum).
2) Heracles on coin of
Greco-Bactrian
king
Demetrius I
.
3
Vajrapani
, the protector of the Buddha, depicted as Heracles in the
Greco-Buddhist art
of
Gandhara
.
4) Shukongōshin of Buddhist temples in Japan.（
Sensō-ji
）