Keywords
Art History
Sculpture
A square pedestal used in portraits of seated high-ranking Buddhist priests. It is usually a simple square dais supported by four small legs or foliate panels *kōzama 格狭間, and in some cases has arms and a back. Early examples are found in the 9th-century painted portraits of The Seven Patriarchs of the Shingon Sect, Shingon shichisozō 真言七祖像 from Tōji 東寺 in Kyoto.