The temple guardians of the Rijksmuseum

One of the highlights since the reopening of the Rijksmuseum is the pair of 14th-century Japanese Temple Guardian figures. These largerthanlife wooden sculptures were made for the Iwayaji Temple in the west of Japan. This original, beautifully illustrated book makes playful use of Japanese p rints and original artwork to weave a story around the history of these very special figures and to inspire an interest in Japanese art and culture.   
This book was created in cooperation with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Shiro lives with his mother in a village overshadowed by the castle of Lord Amago and under threat from the neighbouring Enya clan. He dreams of becoming a samurai warrior. When he hears that the Emperor has sent guardians for their temple he is overjoyed, and climbs the mountain to the temple with the rest of the village to meet them. To his disappointment, they turn out to be statues, not the real men he had imagined. Shocked by the guardians’ appearance, the villagers stay away from the temple. Only Shiro dares to return, and to learn more about these wooden men. When the Enya clan attack, who could have guessed that these Guardians hold not only Shiro’s future but also the safety of the whole province in their hands?