Ema (Votive Painting) of Chinese Lion Led by Utenō
This ema depicts the Chinese lion mount of the bodhisattva Monju (Sanskrit: Manjushri) and its handler, the deity Utenō. Written on either side of the image is a text, now partly abraded, which once read:
This ema is respectfully presented to the deity on the twenty-fifth day of the third month of the year 1627.
Squeezed beneath the lion’s back legs are the (partially illegible) names of four donors. The two names which can be read in their entirety are Gorōsuke and Sanzō. The location of their residence, Nabeyachō, an area only a short distance from the Kōfukuji Temple, appears between the lion’s front legs. The back of the ema has another inscription, now also difficult to make out, which refers to Monju and his wisdom.
This ema is respectfully presented to the deity on the twenty-fifth day of the third month of the year 1627.
Squeezed beneath the lion’s back legs are the (partially illegible) names of four donors. The two names which can be read in their entirety are Gorōsuke and Sanzō. The location of their residence, Nabeyachō, an area only a short distance from the Kōfukuji Temple, appears between the lion’s front legs. The back of the ema has another inscription, now also difficult to make out, which refers to Monju and his wisdom.
Artwork Details
- 優闐王と唐獅子図絵馬「奉掛御宝前 絵馬 寛永丁卯年三月廿五日」
- Title: Ema (Votive Painting) of Chinese Lion Led by Utenō
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1627
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Ink and color on wood
- Dimensions: 10 3/4 x 14 3/8 in. (27.3 x 36.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.268.138
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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