Geppozan Ryounji Temple
Main Image Wooden Nio Standing Figures (Agyo and Ungyo) Category Tenbu (Deva)
Impression TagsPowerDignityTense Presence
DescriptionA pair of wooden Nio guardians, Agyo and Ungyo, is enshrined in the gate of Ryounji Temple in Ahyo, Towa, Hanamaki. Designated as Tangible Cultural Properties of Iwate Prefecture, the Ungyo figure bears an inscription inside recording a donation in 1412 by Ohara Shinano-no-kami Taira Tokiyoshi, third lord of Ahyo Castle. It is regarded as the oldest dated inscription known on a Nio image in Iwate, while the Agyo figure is also thought to date no later than the early Muromachi period. The powerful pair can still be viewed directly in the gate, offering a vivid encounter with medieval local Buddhist devotion.
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