Heian Period figure
- Gallery: Room 93
- Culture: Heian Period
- Made in: Japan
- Date: 12thC
- Object type: figure
- Materials: wood; lacquer; metal; gesso
- Museum number: 1961,0220.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a striking wooden sculpture of Fudo Myo-o, a revered Buddhist deity known as the "Immovable King of Light." His fierce expression, with flames rising behind him, reflects his role in punishing evil and guiding toward enlightenment. He holds a sword in his right hand and a binding rope in his left—each symbolizing truth cutting through illusion and restraining ignorance.
This sculpture, carved in a traditional Japanese method called ichiboku-zukuri, was made from a single block of wood with separately attached arms. The figure, made of painted and lacquered wood and gesso, stands on a plinth and has been adorned with metal elements.
Fudo Myo-o became an important figure during the Heian period, especially in Tantric and Shingon Buddhist traditions. His unchanging nature, represented by his immovable title, contrasts with his dynamic, warlike appearance.
See it in person
Heian Period figure is on display in Room 93 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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