Two temple guardians

Japan, 14th century, wood with traces of painting

Temple guardians are placed at the entrance to a temple to ward off evil. Each of these figures holds a vajra for crushing ignorance. Their open and closed mouths represent a and un, the first and final syllables of Siddham (a script used to write Sanskrit): these syllables symbolize all spoken sounds and scripts, thus all knowledge. Worshippers who enter the temple precinct through the guardians’ gate symbolically acquire this knowledge.

  • Artwork typesculpture
  • Object numberAK-RAK-2007-1-B
  • Dimensionsheight 237 cm x width 146 cm x depth 62.5 cm x weight 175 kg, width 131.5 cm x depth 51 cm