Dakini

Japan

Not on view

Dressed in Chinese courtly attire, Dakini sits astride a fox on a cloud held aloft by dragons and grasps a vajra sword and sacred jewels. An ancient Hindu deity, Dakini was originally a man-eating demoness transformed by the Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) into a life-engendering divinity. She embodies powers of fertility that were invoked for imperial enthronement rituals in the Kyoto court, which led to her assimilation with the ancient Shinto fox deity, Inari.

Dakini, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on hemp, Japan

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Dakini, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on hemp, Japan
Dakini, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on hemp, Japan

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.