The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Fujiwara no Muchimaro
1200s or 1300s
(1185–1333)
Overall: 141.3 x 87 cm (55 5/8 x 34 1/4 in.); with knobs: 210.2 x 112.4 cm (82 3/4 x 44 1/4 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1983.5
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The boughs of wisteria appearing in the background symbolize the figure's status as a Fujiwara family member.Description
This portrait of Fujiwara no Muchimaro (680–737), a grandson of Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669), includes an image of Buddha Dainichi Nyorai above his head. By situating the image of Dainichi there, this painting would seem to assert that Muchimaro is an avatar of Dainichi. In the same way that kami could be identified with Buddhist counterparts, powerful humans could also be seen as manifestations of Buddhist deities. A similar painting is at Eizanji in Nara, of which Muchimaro is known as the founder. It was once a branch temple of Kōfukuji, the Fujiwara family temple.- Through generous funding provided by the Sumitomo Foundation this painting was remounted in 2018 before being exhibited in Shinto: Discovery of the Divine in Japanese Art. The painting was heavily soiled and had a great deal of loss to the silk substrate. During treatment the painting was cleaned and the losses filled with a painting silk that was woven to match the original silk substrate. Losses were toned to blend into the surrounding original. While the old mounting silks were too worn to be reused, copies of the silks were woven in Japan and used in the remounting.
- ?–1983(Heisando Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1983–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- 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. 80-81, no. 27
- 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 Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
- {{cite web|title=Fujiwara no Muchimaro|url=false|author=|year=1200s or 1300s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.5