Ho / Oh
This sculpture piece takes the hoh-oh phoenix from East Asian tradition as its motif. Images of the two phoenixes were created using 3D modeling technology, after which a Kyoto sculptor of Buddhist images created the actual pieces, applied lacquer, then added gold and platinum leaf.
The phoenixes' bodies are completely enveloped in fire, the pair depicted with one open-mouthed and one closed-mouth as is often seen in Japanese a-un statue pairs. The gems on their necklaces are in the shape of bamboo fruit, which the mythical East Asian phoenix is said to have liked, and the wood used for the sculptures is taken from Meiji Shrine camphor trees.
