The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2024

Zaō Gongen

Zaō Gongen

1200s
Average: 106.7 cm (42 in.)
Location: 235B Japanese

Did You Know?

Zaō Gongen wears the pelt of a large feline, the face of which is near his knee.

Description

Zaō Gongen is the guardian deity of Mount Kinpu in Yoshino south of Nara. Zaō appeared at the behest of En no Gyōja, who prayed for a powerful protector of the mountain. The deity was described as a combined manifestation of the Buddha Shakyamuni, Thousand-Armed Kannon, and Miroku. These three deities were viewed as the past, present, and future protectors of the world. Zaō’s appearance derives from portrayals of fierce Buddhist deities.
  • ?–1973
    (Setsu Gatodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1973–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ikawa, Kazuko. "Statues of Zao Gongen and Kongo Doji." Bijutsu Kenkyu [美術硏究 = The journal of art studies], no. 252, May 1967. Reproduced: pl. Ic a
    “The Year in Review for 1973.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 2 (1974): 31–79. Mentioned: no. 179, pp. 31 and 79; Reproduced: no. 179, p. 69 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 372 archive.org
    Yamane, Yūzō 山根有三, Shūjirō Shimada 島田修二郎, and Terukazu Akiyama 秋山光和. Zaigai Nihon no shihō [在外日本の至宝 = Japanese Art: Selections from Western Collections, vol. 8 ]. Tōkyō: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 90, p. 152, color pl. 90
    Shimizu, Zenzo. "Japanese Sculpture in America and Canada." Ars Buddhica, no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67-88. Reproduced: fig. 22
    Lee, Sherman E., Michael R. Cunningham, and Ursula Korneitchouk. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 28–29, no. 10
    Hijiri to inja: sansui ni kokoro o sumasu hitobito: tokubetsuten [聖と隠者 : 山水に心を澄ます人々 : 特别展 = Saints and hermits : people in serenity deep in nature: special exhibition]. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, [Heisei 11] 1999.
    Ōsaka Shiritsu Bijutsukan, and Tōbu Bijutsukan. En no gyōja to shugendō no sekai: sangaku shinkō no hihō: En no gyōja Shinpen Daibosatsu 1300-nen onki kinen [役行者と修験道の世界: 山岳信仰の秘宝: 役行者神變大菩薩 1300年遠忌記念 = The World of Enno-Gyoja and Shugendoh: Secret Treasures of Mountain Asceticism]. [Japan]: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1999. Reproduced: cat. no. 65, p. 47
    Vilbar, Sinéad, and Kevin Gray Carr. Shinto: Discovery of the Divine in Japanese Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 184-185, no. 74
  • Shinto: Discovering the Divine in Japanese Art 神道-日本美術における神性の発見. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-June 30, 2019).
    The World of Enno-Gyoja and Shugendoh: Secret Treasures of Mountain Asceticism. Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan (September 11-October 17, 1999); Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (organizer) (November 2-December 5, 1999).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Year in Review 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 30, 1974-March 16, 1974).
    One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=Zaō Gongen|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=25 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1973.105