Also hōkei 寶髻. The hair of a sculpted figure tied up on top of the head in a topknot. Found on bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩, guardian deities *ten 天, and *Dainichi 大日 images. Hair tied into a single topknot is called *tankei 単髻, and hair divided into two bunches is called *sōkei 双髻. The style of hōkei varied according to the period, and thus are useful in dating figures. In the Asuka and Hakuhō periods there was no fixed style, but in the Tenpyō period two distinct trends were established. The first tied the hair into a single, high topknot, known as kōkei 高髻, as in the standing *Shōkannon 聖観音 (bronze 7th century), in Yakushiji Tōindō 薬師寺東院堂, Nara. The second used strands of hair, wound round the topknot like ribbons positioned one above the other. This style was derived from Tang dynasty China. A good example is the standing *Ashura 阿修羅 (8th century, dry-lacquer) in Kōfukuji 興福寺, Nara. A special example of the topknot is found on *Monju 文殊菩薩 statues, according to descriptions in Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教 texts. Monju appears with one, five, six, or eight topknots but most frequently his hair is tied into five round bunches, gokei 五髻, on top of the head. One such example is the wooden Monju seated on a lion in Hannyaji 般若寺, Nara. During the Heian period, hanging hairstyles *suihotsu 垂髪 were more popular than the hōkei, but the high topknot came back into fashion in the Kamakura period.