This mandorla is comprised of two rings that would have radiated out from behind the head and the body of a statue, each one taking the form of a lotus flower. Metal fittings are affixed to the exquisite openwork carving of the longer lotus-shaped ring and at the outer registers. The height and narrow, rectangular shape of the mandorla suggests that it was for a standing image. Symbols representing Sanskrit sounds known as seed syllables (J. shuji; Skt. bīja) can embody deities. Here, towards the top of the mandorla on either side, seed syllables manifest Nikkō and Gakkō, the bodhisattvas of the sun and the moon. The Four Guardian Kings appear as seed syllables lower down. On the basis of these seed syllables, this mandorla is thought to have been for an image of Yakushi Nyorai (Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru).  
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