Japan / Miniature pagoda / early Nara period (710?794; ca. 767)

Japan
Miniature pagoda
early Nara period (710?794; ca. 767)
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Creator Nationality: Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
Creator Dates/Places: Japan
Creator Name-CRT: Japan
Title: Miniature pagoda
View: Principal view
Creation Start Date: 765
Creation End Date: 769
Creation Date: early Nara period (710?794; ca. 767)
Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Materials and Techniques: wood
Dimensions: H. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
Description: This miniature wooden pagoda, which was originally painted white, is identical to the thousands displayed today at the Treasure House of Horyuji temple in Nara. Historical information on these small pagodas is found in two sources: the Shoku Nihongi (History of Japan Continued, 797) and the Todaiji yoroku (Chronicles of Todaiji, 1134). According to these documents, Empress Koken, who reigned from 749 to 758 and again from 765 to 769 as Empress Shotoku, ordered the production of one million tiny scrolls printed with magical Buddhist incantations, each one enshrined in a miniature pagoda. The project, commissioned as an act of atonement, was completed in 770, at which time 100,000 scrolls and pagodas were distributed to each of the ten major Buddhist temples in Nara. Surprisingly, only Horyuji still houses these royal gifts.
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York
ID Number: 1975.268.150ab
Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Copyright: Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art . All rights reserved.
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/education/er_photo_lib.asp
AMICA ID: MMA_.1975.268.150ab
AMICA Library Year: 2002
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright (c) 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Rights Reserved

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