Keman

{{Short description|Ornament of Buddha}}

{{For|the stringed instrument|Kemenche}}

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}}

File:Keman-iemitsu-mausoleum-shiba-temple-in-matsuki-bunkio-catalog.jpg mausoleum at Shiba temple (Zōjō-ji), gilt bronze ca. 1630. Figures are prob. karyobinga though identified as Kwannon in catalog.{{cite book|last=Matsuki|first=Bunkio|title=Catalogue of rare objects in brass, leathers and wood illustrating the art of old Japan: to be sold at unrestricted public sale by order of Bunkio Matsuki : the sale will be conducted by Thomas E. Kirby of the American Art Association|year=1903 |publisher=American Art Association|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6xCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2|format=google|page=2}}]]

{{Nihongo|Keman|華鬘(けまん)}} (Japanese phoneticization from the Sanskrit kusumamālā "Garland of Flowers"{{cite book|author=Shinchosha|title=新潮世界美術事典 (Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art)|year=1985 |publisher=Shinchosha|isbn=4-10-730206-7}}), is a Buddhist ritual decoration, placed hanging on the beam of the inner sanctuary before the enshrined Buddha, in the main hall of the temple.{{cite book|author=Tokyo National Museum|title=和英対照日本美術鑑賞の手引(An Aid to the Understanding of Japanese Art)|year=1976}} (revised edition; 1964 first ed.), p.132/133

As its Sanskrit name suggests, it originated as a term for fresh flowers strung together and tied in a loop, but became a name for such implements as used to pay respect to the dead (hotoke), and eventually signified ritual implements ornamenting the inner sanctuary ({{Nihongo|naijin|内陣}}), corresponding to the chancel of a church.

They are typically made from gilt bronze in the shape of a round fan (uchiwa). Other materials used for making it are oxhide, wooden boards, or threads.

The design may feature karyobinga (harpy-like beings), or use foliage scroll-work (karakusa) combined with the hōsōge (imaginary peony-like floral pattern), lotus, or peony.

A well-known example is the keman from the Golden Hall of Chūson-ji in Northern Japan, designated National Treasure.