- XVIII-XIX

L-41/4

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 3.3; Larghezza: 7.4

legno- laccatura

Portable cabinet of sacred images were quite common; during journeys and travels they allowed one to set up small altars and make offerings and prayers for the deities. The sacred images mainly included deities of esoteric Buddhism (mikkyō). Bivalve cabinet shapes were also quite common; the external lacquer covering also guaranteed excellent insulating quality. The internal image of the cabinet includes a triad of deities on a rocky spur; in the center is Daikokuten, God of wealth, standing on bales of rice. Accompanied by a sack and his magic mallet. On the left is Bishamonten with a halo in the shape of a rimbō (Wheel of the Law), a warrior god who protects faith. On the right is the female deity Kisshōten – Benzaiten, protector of happiness and fertility, with the torii on her head, the sacred key, and a gem in her hand, depicted in a hypostasis called Dai Benzaiten. The three deities belong to the group of the Seven Deities of Fortune, in Japanese Shichifukujin, and when they are depicted together, they form a propitiatory triad.