Artwork Page for Mandala of the Four Deities of Mt. Kōya

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Mandala of the Four Deities of Mt. Kōya

高野四所明神像

1500s

Japan, Muromachi period

(1392–1573)
Medium
hanging scroll, ink, color and cut gold foil on silk
Measurements
Overall: 178.6 x 56.3 cm (70 5/16 x 22 3/16 in.); Painting only: 97.5 x 39.3 cm (38 3/8 x 15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rosemarie and Leighton Longhi 1999.262
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The two kami, or deities, at the top of this painting are Kariba Myōjin and Niu Myōjin. They inhabit Mount Kōya and are described as son and mother. They are shown here as courtiers, with Kariba in Japanese-style court robes and Niu in robes modeled after court garments of the Tang dynasty. The two kami seated beneath are Kehi Myōjin, portrayed as a lady holding a whisk, and the youthful Miyajima Myōjin, with his hair drawn up in loops, playing a lute (biwa). Hōjō Masako (1157–1225), the wife of the first Kamakura shogun (leader) Minamoto Yoritomo (1147–1199), invited them to Mount Kōya.
A vertically oriented ink and color painting on silk depicts four seated figures with light skin tones and four animals arranged in tiers against a dark ground with a gold lattice pattern. At the top, under a red curtain, two figures sit in dark and red robes. Below, one figure plays a stringed instrument while another wears an ornate crown. At the bottom, four animals, including two maned creatures, rest on the patterned floor.

Mandala of the Four Deities of Mt. Kōya

1500s

Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)

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