2-738-758 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva: Gyodo Mask, late 1100s. This ceremonial mask was used in the religious processions that were particularly popular in the Heian period (794- 1185). In this performance about the Western Paradise, the final resting place of souls in Pure Land Buddhism, 25 actors wearing bodhisattva masks would join an actor portraying the Amida, the Buddha of the Western Paradise. This performance, accompanied by the vigorous drumming, offered a vision of the glory of Amida's paradise for devotees.