Amida Numen Iaponiorum

The figure is centered, sitting cross-legged with hands held together at the chest, fingers intertwined with beads. The figure wears a conical, pointed headpiece, a textured cape or mantle around the shoulders, and a rectangular pectoral ornament featuring a repeating scalloped or wave-like pattern. The face has a serene, flat expression with almond-shaped eyes. Above the head is a small square containing stylized Chinese characters, flanked by Latin text.

This image appears in Athanasius Kircher’s 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus', a massive work attempting to link all world religions to an ancient, primordial Egyptian wisdom. Kircher identifies Amitābha (Amida) as a primary deity of the Japanese, illustrating his effort to map Eastern religious icons into his universal syncretic theology.