Seated Amida (Amitabha) with Raigo Mudra

• Lacquered and gilt cypress wood
• Height: 140.2 cm
• Late Heian Period (Mid-11th Century)
• Kyoto National Museum

This Amida has gentle eyes and nose and smooth, orderly robes. Its hands are in the mudra (hand position) of raigo, welcoming spirits of the dead. The figure has unusual proportions, with a relatively large head in relation to the breadth of the knees. This unusual form is associated with the nine Amida sculptures of Joruri-ji Temple in Kyoto.

Though certain aspects of the work give it a slightly classical feel, the sophisticated form of this Amida suggests that it dates in the early 12th Century.

This Amida was owned by Yakurin-ji Temple, in Kumiyama-cho, south of Kyoto. It was transferred to Sairinji Temple in 1871 (Meiji 4), and then to the Japanese government in 1971.