Keywords
Art History
Sculpture
A type of halo *kōhai 光背 used on Buddhist images, forming a free-standing ring around the head. Some rinkō consist of a single undecorated ring, seen for example on the Kichijōten ryūzō 吉祥天立像 (1212) in Jōruriji 浄瑠璃寺, Kyoto. Others are decorated with jewels, miniature Buddha figures *kebutsu 化仏, or radiating spokes (see *hōshagata kōhai 放射形光背). A halo formed by two concentric rings joined by a decorated band is called nijū rinkō 二重輪光.