A large wood figure of Kariteimo (Hariti)


Edo period (1615-1868), 17th centuryOf joined-block construction, the standing figure shown cradling an infant and holding in her right hand the remains of a branch of pomegranate (now lost), her flowing Chinese-style court robes painted in polychrome pigments and gesso with flowering vines and chevrons, the face and hands covered in burnished gofun, the eyes inlaid in glass, set on an associated multi-tier lotus pedestal 31 3/4in (80.6cm) high (figure only); 46 3/8in (117.8cm) high overall
|Kariteimo was originally a fierce spirit who kidnapped children and fed them to her own offspring. After realizing the pain and suffering she had caused countless parents she converted to Buddhism and adopted the role of protector of all children.For a Kamakura-period seated example of Kishimonjin in the collection of Miidera, see Shiga Kenritsu Biwako Bunkakan, ed., Tenjokai no hotoketachi; Tenbu no shoson (The Buddhas of Heaven, Various Buddhas and Devas), Otsu, 1998, no. 37.