Gigaku Mask, Rikishi (Guardian)｜Nara National Museum

Gigaku Mask, Rikishi (Guardian)

Wood with pigments and lacquer
L 34.0, W 21.0
Kamakura period　12th century

H051814

H051814
2020/02/26

修理前

D009511
1994/02/03

修理前

A215180
1994/02/03

修理前

A215181
1994/02/03

修理前

A215182
1994/02/03

修理前

A215183
1994/02/03

This work represents one of the few extant examples of Gigaku mask in early Kamakura period, thought to have made by the influential Buddhist sculptors in Nara. The lips were pursed in a frown and the teeth were not shown, which was derived from the style of Guardian Kings.

Yasuo Inamoto
Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2010, p.138, no.154.

In the now-lost masked dance-drama known as gigaku, the role of the guardian (rikishi) represents the figure who punishes konron, a monstrous character who obsessively pursues the beautiful Wu woman. The precise rendering of the musculature is reminiscent of the powerful Guardian Kings statues (Kongö Rikishi or Nio) from the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Gigaku masks from this era are extremely rare and highly valuable.
Object label

Accession Number	1356-0
Category	Sculptures
Bibliography	Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum, 2022, 194p. Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2013, 168p. Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2012, 168p. Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2010, 160p. Priest Chōgen and the rebuilding of Tōdaiji: the Kamakura era, an age of artistic revival and innovation. Nara National Museum, 2006, 285p. (Japanese)