En no Gyōja with Zenki and Kōki (En no Gyōja)

1615–1868

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)

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Medium

wood with paint

Measurements

Overall: 24 x 18 x 11.3 cm (9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Weight: 0.5 kg

Credit Line

Gift of Yuko Hosomi and Koichi Yanagi 2012.73.a

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

These figures' miniaturized format allowed them to be portable devotional statuettes that worshipers could carry as they traveled.

Description

This is one of a trio of figures identified as Enno Gyoja and his two attendants, Zenki and Kōki. The set follows the iconography of Shugendo, the traditional mountain ascetic practice in Japan. Enno Gyoja is depicted as a hermit-monk, seated on a rock attached to a modern base. He holds a staff in his right hand and a sutra in the left. The two attendants take the form of half-human, half-demonic figures and are regarded as a married couple.