Japanese Boxed Zhushi Shrine with Standing Buddha

Two doors swing open, and the gold inside does all the work.

This boxed zhushi shrine with standing Buddha comes from Japan and dates to the Edo Period (1603 – 1867 CE). It is wood and bronze. Portable shrines called zushi were used in Japan to house small Buddhist images for personal devotion and travel. A gilded standing figure with a halo and flowing robes rises from a tiered lotus pedestal in the center niche. The two hinged doors are gilt inside, each painted with a standing attendant figure on a lotus, one robed in red with a staff. A domed black lid caps the shrine. It is 1.5 inches wide, 1 deep and 3.88 high.

Devotion, sized to travel.