Wooden Goddess Seated Statue

The Goddesses of Toji's Guardian Shrine

The Wooden Goddess Seated Statue (木造女神坐像) refers to the Heian-period seated goddesses long enshrined in the Chinju Hachimangu, the guardian shrine of Kyoogokokuji (Toji) in Kujo-cho, Minami Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, designated a National Treasure on April 27, 1961. According to Toji, they are two goddesses enshrined with a figure of the god Hachiman in the form of a monk, and are said to have been carved by Kukai himself.

The seated monk-form Hachiman from the same shrine was designated a National Treasure on the same day. Toji describes the Hachiman and the two goddesses as the oldest Shinto sculptures in Japan.

Why It Is a National Treasure

Shinto sculptures are images of the kami in human form. Toji presents its shrine figures as the oldest such images in Japan, making them important early examples of the genre.

Toji explains that the Chinju Hachimangu was founded with the temple to protect the capital, is said to have quelled the Kusuko Incident in the Heian period, and became famous as a shrine for prayers for victory, visited by Ashikaga Takauji among others. That the guardian deities of a Buddhist temple survive as Heian sculptures gives these goddesses their significance.

What to Look For

The goddesses were enshrined as a set of three with the monk-form Hachiman, and Toji notes an additional male figure known as Takenouchi no Sukune. The grouping itself reflects an age when kami and Buddhas were worshipped together within one temple.

The present shrine hall, rebuilt in 1992 with a hip-and-gable copper roof, stands west of the South Gate, according to Toji. It is worth locating within the precinct as the place where the figures have long been venerated.

Seeing the Goddesses

The Chinju Hachimangu stands in Toji's precinct, west of the South Gate. The Toji website gives no information about opportunities to see the goddess figures themselves. Toji's treasure museum opens in spring (March 20 to May 25) and autumn (September 20 to November 25), but displays change each season, so check with the temple. Precinct hours and access are on the Kyoogokokuji (Toji) page.