The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Vertically long hanging scroll depicting Daiitoku, a deity with dark blue skin, three faces, and six arms and legs, riding a green creature down undulating blue and grey waves, flames trailing behind him. Daiitoku aims weapons, including a spear and bow and arrow to our lower right, standing with his right legs lifted high up and left legs pressing into the back of the creature, which has a snout, arching horns, and hooved legs tucked in. Daiitoku's grey hair sticks straight up above his faces, with three, smaller faces in it and a grey halo behind his head.

Wisdom King of Great Awe-inspiring Power (Daiitoku Myōō)

mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
Overall: 250 x 143 cm (98 7/16 x 56 5/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1976.72
Location: Not on view

Description

In Esoteric Buddhism, there is one Buddha at the center of the universe, and four additional Buddhas, each of whom occupies one of the four cardinal directions. These Buddhas also manifest themselves in fierce forms called Kings of Brightness (myōō), or Wisdom Kings. Daiitoku is an avatar of the Buddha Amida and manages the west.
  • ?–1976
    (Bunzo Nakanishi, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1976–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1976.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (February, 1977): 39–78. Mentioned: cat. no. 152, p. 79; Reproduced: cat. no. 152, p. 67 www.jstor.org
    Koyama-Richard, Brigitte. Animaux Dans La Peinture Japonaise. Lyon: Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2020. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 168
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Wisdom King of Great Awe-inspiring Power (Daiitoku Myōō)|url=false|author=|year=mid-1800s|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.72