Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha)

Japan

Not on view

Ōtsu-e, or “pictures from Ōtsu Village," were folk paintings popular with travelers the busy trade and pilgrimage routes passing by Lake Biwa, to the northeast of Kyoto. The fierce blue-bodied deity Shōmen Kongōyasha served as the central icon for the popular rite of kōshin machi, an all-night religious vigil intended to protect believers from evil. Before him are four fierce yasha (Sanskrit: yaksha), wrathful deities who serve as guardians of Buddhism.

Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan

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with mounting, rollers, and knobs

Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan

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