Zaō Gongen is a rare example of a purely Japanese deity in the Buddhist pantheon. Many of the religious practices associated with Zaō took place in remote temples deep in the mountains. Through these rites, mountain ascetics (yamabushi), who were practitioners of Shugendō, attempted to appropriate for themselves the sheer physical power of the deities. This powerful icon in a demon-quelling aspect was made for the Kōshōji Temple in Kyoto.
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蔵王権現立像
Title:Zaō Gongen
Period:Heian period (794–1185)
Date:11th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Gilt bronze with incised decoration
Dimensions:H. 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm); W. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); D. 3 9/16 in. (9 cm)
Classification:Sculpture
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:1975.268.155
Kōshōji Temple , Kumihama, Kyoto (until approx. 1960; sold to an Osaka dealer); [ dealer , Osaka, Japan; sold to Harry G. C. Packard]; [ Harry G. C. Packard American, Tokyo, until 1975; donated and sold to MMA]
Nara National Museum. "The Gilt Bronze Statues of the Heian and Kamakura Periods," April 29, 1976–May 30, 1976.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art, Part II," May 1–September 8, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "No Ordinary Mortals: The Human and Not-So-Human Figure in Japanese Art," November 1, 1996–October 5, 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan," 1998.
Tokyo. Tobu Museum of Art. "The World of Enno-Gyōja and Shugendō: Secret Treasures of Mountain Asceticism," September 11, 1999–October 17, 1999.
Osaka Municipal Museum of Art. "The World of Enno-Gyōja and Shugendō: Secret Treasures of Mountain Asceticism," November 2, 1999–December 5, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Blossoms of Many Colors: A Selection from the Permanent Collection of Japanese Art," March 21–August 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan," August 19, 2000–February 5, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds, Flowers, and Buddhist Paradise Imagery in Japanese Art," February 14–June 13, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tribute to a Dedicated Collector: Mary Griggs Burke," June 30–November 29, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Spring and Summer," December 17, 2005–June 4, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Flowing Streams: Scenes from Japanese Arts and Life," December 21, 2006–June 3, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Graceful Gestures: Two Decades of Collecting Japanese Art," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Drama of Eyes and Hands: Sharaku's Portraits of Kabuki Actors," September 20, 2007–March 24, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Animals, Birds, Insects, and Marine Life in Japanese Art," June 26–November 30, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Five Thousand Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection," December 17, 2009–June 10, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Storytelling in Japanese Art," November 19, 2011–May 6, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Discovering Japanese Art: American Collectors and the Met," February 14 - September 27, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination," July 24, 2019–January 31, 2021.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japan: A History of Style," March 8, 2021–April 24, 2022.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art," April 8, 2023–July 14, 2024.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983, p. 241, fig. 4.
Barnhart, Richard M. (Introduction). The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Asia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, p. 18, pl. 4.
Tokyo Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo 東京国立文化財研究所, ed. Nyūyōku Metoroporitan Bijutsukan, kaiga, chōkoku ニューヨークメトロポリタン美術館，絵画・彫刻 (Painting and sculpture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) Kaigai shozai Nihon bijutsuhin chōsa hōkoku 海外所在日本美術品調查報告 (Catalogue of Japanese art in foreign collections) 1. Tokyo: Kobunkazai Kagaku Kenkyūkai, 1991, p. 147, cat. no. 457.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, p. 93, fig. 4.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012, p. 102.
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