(2)  The  Taho  Pagoda;  (3)  Disciples  Worshiping  a
Relic  of  Prince  Mahasattva;  (4)  A  Vision  of  the  Holy
Mount  Sumeru;  (5)  Mahasattva  Throwing  Himself  to  a
Hungry  Lioness  and  its  Cubs ;  (6)  The  Buddha  Writing
"  All  Things  Are  Ever  Changing  "  and  Throwing  Him-
self to  the  Rakshasa.  The  other  reliquary  is  commonly
referred  to  as  the  "  Tachibana  Shrine,"  as  it  served  to
house  a  small  bronze  group  representing  Amida,  Seishi
and  Kwannon,  to  which  Tachibana,  mother  of  the  Em-
press Komyo,  is  said  to  have  addressed  her  prayers.
The  Tachibana  Shrine,  like  the  Suiko  Shrine,  which  we
have  already  described,  is  of  miniature  temple  form,  and
similarly  painted  in  litharge  upon  primed  wood,  with  Bud-
dhist designs  —  in  this  case  representing  Shaka,  Monju
and  Fugen,  bodhisattvas,  etc.  At  the  present  day  these
paintings  are  so  dimmed  by  age  as  to  be  well-nigh  in-
visible, but  in  a  strong  light  one  can  still  distinguish
strong  Indian  feeling  in  those  of  the  eight  panels  that  re-
main. The  maker  of  the  reliquary  is  unknown,  but  cer-
tain Japanese  experts  would  attribute  it  to  the  Asuka
Period  (629-707).  From  the  open  doors  of  this  incense-
stained  reliquary  three  small  white-bronze  figures  gaze
down  upon  one  from  rounded  lotus  pedestals,  which  rise
upon  twisted  stems  from  a  flat  bronze  lotus-covered  pool
below,  Figure  12.  This  exquisite  little  group,  attributa-
ble to  the  Tenchi-Temmei,  or  Transition  Period  of  the
latter  half  of  the  seventh  century,  is  referred  to  by  Fenol-
losa  as  "  the  unique  flower  of  the  early  East  Asian  stage
of  Buddhist  art."  3  In  the  center  sits  Amida,  personifica-
tion of  the  realm  of  boundless  light,  flanked  by  Kwannon

s  Fenollosa,  Prof.  E.  F.  "  Epochs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art."  Vol.  1,
p.  72.
