them, for example Gyōson, were known for both their poetry and their devotion to this deity. Shinra Myōjin is also regarded as a deity of pestilence. Historical sources indicate that he was believed to both cause epidemics and cure illnesses. In has been noted that in a number of accounts, he displays the traits of a (祟り神), a deity capable of bestowing both blessings and curses. According to Jimon denki horoku, during an epidemic in 1184, prayers to Shinra Myōjin were performed in the imperial court. Bernard Faure argues that the aspect of his character related to pestilence developed early on. However, Sujung Kim concludes that it was derived from a link between Silla and epidemics in Japanese imagination, which is not yet documented in Heian sources, and only became a common view in the thirteenth century. Iconography Shinra Myōjin is typically depicted as an old man dressed in three-pronged Chinese head wear and a red robe, holding a pilgrim's staff and a scroll. His hair is usually white. However, a scroll showing him with dark hair is known from the collection of the Ōtsu City Museum of History. According to Mark Teeuwen, despite his possible Korean origin, his appearance is “distinctly un-Korean”. Sujung Kim describes him as typically having the appearance of a Tang period official, and remarks his iconography shows less variety than those of other similar deities, such as Sekizan Myōjin. It might have been in part based on Taisho Rōnin (大聖老人; also Saishō Rōnin, 最勝老人), a figure belonging to the so-called Mañjuśrī Pentad. His name designates him as a manifestation of Mañjuśri as an old man, as it is a combination of two signs from the full Chinese name of Mañjuśri (大聖文殊師利, Dasheng Wenshu shili) and the term laoren, “old man”, pronounced in Japanese as rōnin; therefore, his iconography might have been adopted for Shinra Myōjin to give him more legitimacy as a Buddhist figure. While depictions of Shinra Myōjin are relatively rare, a well known statue representing him is kept in Mii-dera, where it is enshrined in the Shinra Zenshindō (新羅善神捨堂). It is hidden due to being one of the so-called “secret buddhas” (秘仏, hibutsu), statues which cannot be in public view due to the powers attributed to them. It is agreed that it was originally carved no later than in the twelfth century, but the precise date is a matter of debate. 1052 has