Nose Myōken 能勢妙見 – Hout, Lak – Hidden Christianity (Kakure Kirishitan) – Japan – Edo Periode (1600-1868)

a nicely carved and lacquered wooden Nose Myōken 能勢妙見 holding a sword above his head, while sitting on a rocky base. The Myōken Bodhisattva is a Buddhist deification of the North Star worshiped mainly in the Shingon, Tendai and Nichiren schools of Japanese Buddhism. Veneration of Myōken as a god of war is believed to derive from the practice of worshiping the easternmost star of the Big Dipper, known in Chinese as the 'Broken Army' or the 'Destroyer of Armies' to bring success in battle. In the Kansai region, there is a overwhelmingly popular faith in Myōken. Especially around Mount Nose Myōken, Many people there believe that only the Nose-style Myōken Bodhisattva is the true form of Myōken.There is a theory that suggests the hidden Christians (Kakure Kirishitan) believed in the Nose-style Myōken Bodhisattva as a representation of the cross, considering that the crest of Nose (Nose-mon) consists of a cross made from a diagonal bamboo cutting and that the sword and hand gesture forms a cross when viewed horizontally and vertically.Since Justo Takayama Ukon (ジュスト高山右近), the Sengoku warlord who ruled this area, was a devout Christian, this theory may not be entirely inaccurate. Hidden Christians in various places seem... lees verder bij Catawiki