Mokuzō Kariteimo (Kishibojin) 毛越寺宝物館 木造訶梨帝母（鬼子 母神）像

Iwate Prefecture Tangible Cultural Property

This twelfth-century wooden statue of Kariteimo holds a baby in her left arm and a pomegranate in her right hand. Kariteimo was originally a Hindu demon that devoured children, but after her adoption into the Buddhist pantheon, she became one of the many deities of motherhood and children in Japan, and is also known as Kishibojin and Kishimojin. The figure was carved from a single block of katsura wood and was originally housed in Daijōin, a sub-temple of Mōtsūji Temple.