Late Heian - Early Kamakura period (12th century)

The Bodhisattva Jizo is a merciful figure who moves through the Six Realms of existence in his role of saving all sentient beings. These Six Realms, from human to animal, and including Hell, comprise the levels of existence through which we are driven by the forces of karmic retribution, until such time as we achieve enlightenment. Jizo seeks out sufferers to ease their pain. Among Japan’s myriad deities, Jizo is arguably the most widely known, easily recognized and actively venerated even in modern times. He appears as a kindly young monk—shaven head, no adornments, dressed in the simple robe of a cleric. His exalted status as a deity is indicated by the urna on his forehead and his long earlobes. In his left hand, he holds a pearl-like jewel, called nyoishu (wisdom gem) and in his right a monk’s staff with multiple rings used to beat away the demons of hell.
Judging by the style of the cut gold leaf (kirikane) decoration on the front of the robe—a style associated with workshops in Nara in the late twelfth century—this Jizo is likely to be the work of a Buddhist sculptor in a Nara atelier. Other contemporary works from the Nara atelier with similar use of kirikane design are a statue of Bishamonten in the Senjudo Hall on Mount Koya and a statue of Jizo at Daifuku-ji Temple, Kyoto (a temple originally located in Nara).
At a time when many sculptors were adopting a new naturalism and dynamism introduced from the Chinese mainland, this serene figure recalls the restrained, classical forms of the high aristocracy of the late Heian period.