Bodhisattvas with kirikane

Originally, kirikane patterns have been applied to textiles, metal work or leather to adorn the clothes and armor of statues and pictures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Kirikane flourished in the field of Buddhist art with the purpose of celebrating the grandeur of the images of Buddha. Nowadays, this technique subsists only in Japan. It is an independent category of traditional crafts which has gone beyond the boundaries of Buddhist art.