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ATTRIBUTED TO JAKUSAI. Portrait of En no Gyoja

Portrait of En no Gyoja. Artist: Attributed to Jakusai (Japanese). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 36 1/8 × 15 1/4 in. (91.8 × 38.7 cm). Date: late 14th-15th century. En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of Shugendo, a sect of mountain-dwelling religious practitioners, is said to have lived during the seventh century on Mount Katsuragi, near the ancient capital of Nara. En no Gyoja is believed to have conjured Zao Gongen of Mount Kinpusen, the tutelary deity of Shugendo. In this portrait, En no Gyoja is portrayed in his conventional hood, monk's robe, straw mantle, and wooden sandals. He usually holds a vajra (thunderbolt sword) and a shakujo (jeweled staff with six rings). Here, however, he holds a rosary, while one of his two servant-demons holds the shakujo instead. These demons, one red and one green, were, according to legend, ordered by En no Gyoja to serve him. Had they refused, he had the power to bind them with a spell. The landscape suggests a high mountain with a stream and hovering clouds.
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Author:
Title:
Portrait of En no Gyoja
Caption:
Portrait of En no Gyoja. Artist: Attributed to Jakusai (Japanese). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 36 1/8 × 15 1/4 in. (91.8 × 38.7 cm). Date: late 14th-15th century. En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of Shugendo, a sect of mountain-dwelling religious practitioners, is said to have lived during the seventh century on Mount Katsuragi, near the ancient capital of Nara. En no Gyoja is believed to have conjured Zao Gongen of Mount Kinpusen, the tutelary deity of Shugendo. In this portrait, En no Gyoja is portrayed in his conventional hood, monk's robe, straw mantle, and wooden sandals. He usually holds a vajra (thunderbolt sword) and a shakujo (jeweled staff with six rings). Here, however, he holds a rosary, while one of his two servant-demons holds the shakujo instead. These demons, one red and one green, were, according to legend, ordered by En no Gyoja to serve him. Had they refused, he had the power to bind them with a spell. The landscape suggests a high mountain with a stream and hovering clouds.
Technique/material:
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Period:
Muromachi period (1392-1573)
Museum:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Credit:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
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Image size:
2190 x 4200 px | 26.3 MB
Print size:
18.5 x 35.6 cm | 7.3 x 14.0 in (300 dpi)
Keywords: