oi　笈

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

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.

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