Sōgyō Hachiman

This work is believed to be part of a group of sculptures produced by one studio around the same time, possibly for a processional ritual. The literal meaning of its title is “Hachiman in the guise of a monk.” The cult of the Shinto deity Hachiman originated at Usa in northeast Kyushu, a site relatively close to the Korean peninsula and also a prominent early Buddhist center. Buddhism had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century, and monks became one of the most recognizable symbols of its practice. Hachiman’s “guise” reflects the melding of Buddhist and indigenous Shinto beliefs into a shared iconography.