AN IMPRESSIVE LARGE LACQUERED WOOD ZUSHI (PORTABLE SHRINE) CONTAINING A GILT WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAIJapan, 18th-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Amida standing on a lotus dais raised on a compressed globular section carved with clouds over a leafy section supported on an elaborate tiered octagonal pedestal base, carved partly in openwork, decorated with lotus, jewel, foliate, key-fret, and floral designs. The slender columns are painted with elaborate brocade designs. The kohai (aureole) is intricately carved in openwork with swirling clouds, further with seven seated Buddhas, the topmost within a stupa, above a circular silvered mirror.The exterior of the shrine of a reddish-brown wood with copper fittings including shaped hinges and floral handles, the interior of the shrine lacquered gold.HEIGHT 89.3 cmCondition: Good condition with minor wear, little flaking to lacquer, few small nicks, light surface scratches, few minor old repairs.The sculpture represents Amitabha, known in Japanese as Amida Nyorai, or the Buddha of Limitless Light. Amitabha reigns over the Western Pure Land, a paradise to which anyone is welcomed if they faithfully and sincerely incant his name. This place of salvation became central to the Jodo [lit. Pure Land] sect of Buddhism. Propounded in 1175 by the monk Honen, the accessibility of such tenets of redemption allowed this form of Buddhism to proliferate across the nation and feudal classes of Japan. Often depicted with an elaborate mandala, the boat-shaped halo is said to remind his followers that he serves as a guide for them to cross the ocean of suffering which contaminates the living.