The Buddhist acolyte form of the name *Kūkai 空海 (774-835; see *Kōbō Daishi 弘法大師), the founder of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. Chigo 稚児 refers to a young boy or Buddhist novice, and Daishi (Great Master) refers to Kūkai's posthumous name Kōbō Daishi. Paintings of Kūkai as an acolyte typically show the young boy within a circle, kneeling in prayer on a lotus pedestal. He is dressed in court garb, a split-skirt hakama 袴 and *kosode 小袖 robe. His hair is long and parted in the center, and his girl-like face is marked by full lips. The image is thought to derive from Kūkai's account of a recurring dream during his childhood, recounted in his Goyuigō 御遺告, Kūkai's memories as recounted by a disciple, and in later narratives concerning his childhood in Konjaku monogatari 今昔物語 (late 11th century). The earliest extant paintings date from the 13th century (Kōsetsu 香雪 Museum, Hyōgo Prefecture, and Daigoji 醍醐寺, Kyoto), and the many later paintings of the subject follow the style of one of these two works. Because Kūkai was viewed as the first practitioner of homosexual behavior in Japan and chigo often were idolized as homosexual lovers, the Chigo Daishi theme may carry homosexual implications.