The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

En no Gyōja

1200s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)
wood
Average: 74.9 cm (29 1/2 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1975.65
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This sculpture was once flanked by the demons Zenki and Koki (CMA 2012.40).

Description

This Buddhist monk is known as En no Gyōja, or “En the Ascetic” (legendarily 634–701), who is said to have founded Shugendō, a style of religious practice focused on performing challenging, rigorous tests of courage and devotion in mountainous settings.
  • ?-1975
    (R. Hosomi, Osaka, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1975-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (February 1976): 31–71. Reproduced: p. 61; Mentioned: p. 71, no. 174. www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “Varieties of Portraiture in Chinese and Japanese Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 4 (April 1977): 118–36. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 132–133, fig. 20 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. 370. 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]. Tōkyō: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1978. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 87, p. 151, color pl. 87
    Shimizu Zenzō, "Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada," Bukkyō geijutsu [佛教藝術= Ars Buddhica] , no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67–88. Reproduced: fig. 23, p. 73
    Special Exhibition of Buddhist Portraiture [日本の仏教を築いた人びと : その肖像と書 = nihon no Bukkyō o kizuita hitobito : sono shōzō to sho] . Nara: Nara National Museum 奈良国立博物館, 1981. cat. no. 20
    Saints and hermits: people in serenity deep in nature: special exhibition [聖と隠者: 山水に心を澄ます人: 特别展 = Hijiri to inja: sansui ni kokoro o sumasu hitobito: tokubetsuten]. Nara: Nara National Museum 奈良国立博物館, 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. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 5, p. 10.
    Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing. Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.
  • 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).
    Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).
    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).
    Saints and Hermits - Peoples in Serenity Deep in the Nature. Nara National Museum, Nara 630, Japan (organizer) (April 27-May 30, 1999).
    Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983).
    日本の仏教を築いた人びと: その肖像と書 (Those Who Built Japanese Buddhism: Portraits and Calligraphy). Nara National Museum, Nara 630, Japan (organizer) (April 29-June 7, 1981).
    Buddhist Portraiture. Nara National Museum, Nara, Japan (April 29-June 7, 1981).
    Year in Review: 1975. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 3-March 7, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=En no Gyōja|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.65