Marks of the Buddha

Indian tradition held that a great being bears thirty-two major and eighty minor marks on the body. Sculptors across Asia used a selection of them to show that a figure is a buddha. In Japanese sculpture they are the surest signs that you are looking at a Nyorai rather than a monk or a bodhisattva.

The visible marks

Mark Japanese What to look for
Cranial protuberance Nikkei A rounded swelling on the crown of the head, signifying wisdom
Jewel at the topknot Nikkeishu A red or crystal jewel set at the front of the protuberance
Curl between the brows Byakugō A small boss, often of crystal, from which light shines
Snail-shell curls Rahotsu Hair in tight clockwise curls, each carved or added separately
Long earlobes Jida Stretched by the heavy earrings of the princely life given up
Three neck folds Sandō Rings around the neck, a sign of radiance and good fortune
Webbed fingers Manmōsō A fine membrane between the fingers, to draw beings in like a net
Golden skin Konjikisō Expressed through gilding

The Buddha's footprint

Among the marks are thousand-spoked wheels on the soles of the feet. Before the Buddha was shown in human form, his presence was marked by footprints, and stones carved with them, bussokuseki, were venerated. The footprint stone of Yakushiji in Nara, dated 753, is the oldest in Japan, carved with wheels, fish, a conch and other auspicious signs.

Collecting notes

  • Snail-shell curls were often carved individually and pegged in, and losses are common. Count the gaps.
  • The crystal of the byakugō and the topknot jewel are easily lost or replaced with glass. See Gyokugan: Crystal Eyes.

In the collection

Browse seated buddhas and the Buddhist Statues and Sacred Art collection.

See also

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