The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Seated Zenki

1400s

Japan, Muromachi period

(1392–1573)
wood with pigment
Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Sundry Art - Japanese/Korean and Lillian Kern Memorial Fund 2012.40.1
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A popular Japanese comic named Zenki was inspired by the figure seen here wielding a weapon.

Description

The axe-wielding red Zenki, and the vase-holding, bamboo backpack-wearing green Koki are both under the mystical control of the monk, En no Ozunu (legendarily 634–701), also known as En no Gyōja, or “En the Ascetic,” considered to have founded Shugendō, a style of religious practice focused on performing austerities in mountainous settings.
  • The collection of Myoshin-ji Temple, Wakayama prefecture, Japan
    The Hosomi family, Kyoto, Japan
    ?-2012
    (Koichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2012-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2011-2012.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 63, no. 2, 2013, pp. 215–276. Reproduced: p. 223, fig. 11 www.jstor.org
    Vilbar, Sinéad, and Kevin Gray Carr. Shinto: Discovery of the Divine in Japanese Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 182-183, no. 73
  • 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).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Zenki|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.40.1