Illustrated Legends of the Origins of the Kumano Shrines
Not on view
This handscroll is one of a set of three narrating the miraculous origins of the shrines at Kumano, one of Japan’s most sacred locales. A fantastical account of the Indian origins and ultimate enshrinement of Kumano’s three deities, the story is told through a mix of text and image presented in a linear format, conveying progression through time and space. The first two scrolls depict the story of an unnamed consort—one among a thousand—of an Indian maharaja. She gives birth to the ruler’s only son but is immediately beheaded at the hands of the other 999 consorts, who are bitterly jealous. The maharaja, his consort, and the prince are eventually enshrined as the deities of Kumano, whose sacred sites are introduced in the final scroll.
On view from August 28, 2021–April 24, 2022
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