About this objectThis wooden sculpture depicts Prince Shōtoku at a reported event in his youth: aged just two, he took some steps, put his hands together and praised the Buddha. A relic, the left eye of the Buddha, then miraculously appeared between his palms.
This wooden statue was made around 1292. Much of the original paint has disappeared but he had a white face and blue-green hair as commonly shown in status of the Buddha.
The statue is hollow and was opened in the late 1930s to reveal a cache of devotional objects—including miniature sculptures of protective deities, prayers, charms, and Buddhist scripture. X-ray imaging has also revealed a dried lotus seed between its palms, representing the Buddha's eyeball.
Date Madec.1292
PeriodKamakura period
Place MadeJapan
Subject and Association KeywordsRelics
Subject and Association DescriptionLearn More: SISJAC report; Carr 2011; Rosenfiled 1968–9; Saunders 2019
