413 - A hōtō (treasure pagoda)-form shari-zushi (reliquary shrine for Buddhist relics). Finely modelled as a two-storeyed pagoda of tahōtō form raised on a railed platform, constructed in wood lacquered black and gilt over a red ground, with copper fittings. The removable roofs of two tiers with deeply upswept eaves and ribbed tiling, hung at the angles with copper wind-bells (fūtaku) and rising to a tall finial (sōrin) of stacked rings on a removable metal shaft, stayed by suspended chains. The platform enclosed by a pierced balustrade and approached by twin flights of steps, at its centre a glazed chamber framed by columns and housing a small black-lacquer reliquary of hōtō form with a copper frame, fitted with glazed panels and enclosing several grains of relic (busshari). The stepped base carved with lotus and chrysanthemum and fitted at the angles and drawer with pierced copper mounts, the drawer enclosing a folded paper document written in ink — a relic inventory (shari mokuroku) recording deposits of Buddha relics of various provenances, among them Kyoto and Chikuzen and relics said to have manifested upon an ordination platform, dedicated to the memory of a member of the Oka family under the Buddhist name …-jōin-den, the relic inventory dated the twelfth month of Enkyō 3 (1746), with the injunction that the relics not be dispersed.

A hōtō (treasure pagoda)-form shari-zushi (reliquary shrine for Buddhist relics). Finely modelled as a two-storeyed pagoda of tahōtō form raised on a railed platform, constructed in wood lacquered black and gilt over a red ground, with copper fittings. The removable roofs of two tiers with deeply upswept eaves and ribbed tiling, hung at the angles with copper wind-bells (fūtaku) and rising to a tall finial (sōrin) of stacked rings on a removable metal shaft, stayed by suspended chains. The platform enclosed by a pierced balustrade and approached by twin flights of steps, at its centre a glazed chamber framed by columns and housing a small black-lacquer reliquary of hōtō form with a copper frame, fitted with glazed panels and enclosing several grains of relic (busshari). The stepped base carved with lotus and chrysanthemum and fitted at the angles and drawer with pierced copper mounts, the drawer enclosing a folded paper document written in ink — a relic inventory (shari mokuroku) recording deposits of Buddha relics of various provenances, among them Kyoto and Chikuzen and relics said to have manifested upon an ordination platform, dedicated to the memory of a member of the Oka family under the Buddhist name …-jōin-den, the relic inventory dated the twelfth month of Enkyō 3 (1746), with the injunction that the relics not be dispersed. Condition: heavily and evenly darkened by incense soot over the original gilding, consistent with long ritual use, with scattered losses and abrasion throughout; some pendant chains and wind-bells deficient; the interior reliquary retaining its relic grains; the inventory document fragmentary, with substantial losses to the paper. The roof, interior reliquary and base drawer removable, the whole retained together as a group. W: 26cm H: 51.5cm With a chip. Wooden box Japan, Edo period