hanka fuza 半跏趺坐

Keywords
Art History
Sculpture

Also hanka 半跏, hankaza 半跏坐, hanfuza 半趺坐, daibosatsuza 大菩薩坐, and bosatsuza 菩薩坐. The half-lotus posture (as opposed to the full-lotus position *kekka fuza 結跏趺坐. One leg is folded over the other with the sole up and the other foot is under leg. Hanka fuza, in the same manner as kekka fuza, has two forms; kisshōza 吉祥坐 (the right leg rests on the left thigh) and gōmaza 降魔坐 (the left leg rests on the right thigh), the latter being less commonly found. The hanka fuza position was thought to be originally provided for nuns. The position is very often used for bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 images, hence the term bosatsuza. The hanka fuza sometimes includes hanka fumisage 半跏踏下 position where the right leg is placed on the left thigh but the left leg is pendant, as seen in the hanka shiyuizō 半跏思惟像 found in bodhisattva images made in China, Korea, and Japan.