National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This hanging lantern made of forged iron was preserved at Nyohōji Temple in Fukushima Prefecture. The roof and projections at the base of the frame are shaped like arrowroot leaves with hearts rendered in openwork. Two of the fire box’s six panels are hinged doors. One has diamond latticework and checks, and the other has a net-like pattern and checks. The openwork designs on the other four panels are cut in negative to show: threeleaf arrowheads with tachibana orange trees; cherry blossoms with wood sorrel; pines, bamboo, and plum blossoms; and a fence with chrysanthemums. The upper panels of the fire box are decorated in openwork as well. Inscriptions on these panels and the sacred jewel on top of the roof indicate the lantern was dedicated to the deity Shukongōshin (Skt. Vajrapāṇi) enshrined in Nyohōji Temple on the Inagawa estate in Aizu in Eiroku 7 (1564).