Shinto Deity in the Guise of the Monk Hyeja

This figure is said to represent the seventh-century Korean monk Hyeja, the foremost spiritual teacher of the first great patron of Buddhism in Japan, Prince Shotoku (574-622). The sculpture is made in the ichiboku technique, utilizing only a single block of wood. Its dramatic power is enhanced by the natabori technique, in which the sculptor's chisel marks are clearly visible on the surface.