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Deer Mandala of Kasuga Shrine

late 14th century
Not on view
By the fourteenth century, tendencies toward the synthesis of Buddhism and Shinto led to the belief in Shinto kami as manifestations of Buddhist deities. The deer, vehicle of the deity Takemikazuchi, rides on a cloud and wears a colorful saddle that supports an evergreen sakaki tree interlaced with wisteria vines. At the tree’s canopy is a golden mirror that includes images of the five Buddhist deities associated with the kami of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 春日鹿曼荼羅 (Kasuga shika mandara)
  • Title: Deer Mandala of Kasuga Shrine
  • Period: Nanbokuchō period (1336–92)
  • Date: late 14th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 33 15/16 × 13 7/8 in. (86.2 × 35.2 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 66 15/16 × 20 15/16 in. (170 × 53.2 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 66 15/16 × 22 15/16 in. (170 × 58.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.11
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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