Fujiwara no Kamatari as a Shinto Deity

Japan

Not on view

The court minister Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669), was the first of his illustrious clan to dominate Japanese court life (which the family continued to do through the twelfth century). After his death, he came to be venerated as a Shinto deity at Danzan Shrine in Tonomine, near Nara. Seen here in official garb, he is attended by his sons—one a high-ranking Buddhist monk and the other Kamatari’s successor at court. Their kami nature is indicated by three hanging golden mirrors—symbolic objects in Shinto.

Fujiwara no Kamatari as a Shinto Deity, Hanging scroll; color on silk, Japan

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Fujiwara no Kamatari as a Shinto Deity, Hanging scroll; color on silk, Japan
Fujiwara no Kamatari as a Shinto Deity, Hanging scroll; color on silk, Japan

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