Word: karura
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Among the most striking statues in the exhibition was a Nara-period lacquer of the demigod Karura, one of the legendary protectors of Shakamuni Buddha. His unknown craftsman visualized him as looking a good deal like an ancient warrior, with stern glance, hanging jowls and a suit of mail-but distinguished from ordinary mortals by a belligerently bird-like beak...
...beak? Modern Japanese are not sure. One opinion is that Karura is patterned after the Indian bird-god. Garuda, who used to thrive on serpents. Another version: Karura broke some of Buddha's precepts and got his face altered in punishment. The 420,000 Japanese who trooped past him were hardly bothered by historical uncertainties; Karura, in all his fierce, proud finery, was simply a pleasure to look...
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