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Zao Gongen

13th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Zaō Gongen, the abiding spirit of Mount Kinpu in the Yoshino Mountains south of Nara, 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), practitioners of mystic sect called Shugendō, attempted to appropriate for themselves the sheer physical power of the deities.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 蔵王権現立像
  • Title: Zao Gongen
  • Period: Kamakura period (1185–1333)
  • Date: 13th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Iron
  • Dimensions: H. 12 15/16 × W. 6 7/8 × D. 4 5/16 in. (32.9 × 17.4 × 11 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Lent by John C. Weber Collection
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art