Daishōgun (Great General)
Daishōgun is a guardian of the cardinal directions, a powerful and popular deity in ancient Japan, where certain directions were seen as the source of great danger. According to the practices of Onmyōdō, the Way of Yin-Yang, the most perilous direction shifted every three years. Daishōgun icons were moved regularly to safeguard people from menacing cosmic forces in the most vulnerable times and places. Imagined as a bearded and red-faced warrior wearing a helmet and suit of armor, he would have originally held a sword in his right hand.
Artwork Details
- 大将軍神像
- Title: Daishōgun (Great General)
- Period: Heian period (794–1185)
- Date: 11th–12th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Wood with traces of color
- Dimensions: H. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.216.4
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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