A square wooden box with four legs carried as a
backpack by mountain ascetic priests, yamabushi 山伏. The interior of the
box is divided into upper and lower compartments, the upper having a double leaf
hinged door and the lower a vertical halved door called a kendonbuta 倹飩蓋.
The monk used the box to transport his clothes and food in the upper part and
his ritual tools and images in the lower, and the oi is therefore of considerable
significance as a Buddhist object. The surface of the box may be decorated with
engravings or with a gilt bronze sheet decorated with stupas, lotus flowers or
wheels. |