Kukai Kobodaishi (774-835) was a Tantric master who founded the esoteric Shingon School and established the Vajrayana teachings in the ninth century. This late Meiji Hakata Ningyo depicts Kukai in a voluminous monk robe, holding a dorje thunderbolt in his right hand and a juzu rosary in his left. The master appears youthful, sober, and full of radiance as he is seated powerfully in the dhyanasana pose above a zabuton mat with a formidable presence. The origin of Hakata dolls is commonly accepted to be in the 17th-century Hakata province. Likely because this is a sacred Odaishisama 大師様, this spirited Hakata ningyo is absent in the signature or marks. Nevertheless, its hand-sculpted figure and superb artistry are consistent with the late Meiji Hakata ningyo of the Kyoto school.