Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha)

probably late 16th–early 17th century

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.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

青面金剛夜叉図大津絵
Title: Ōtsu-e of Shōmen Kongōyasha (Vajrayaksha)
Period: Muromachi (1392–1573) or Momoyama period (1573–1615)
Date: probably late 16th–early 17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Image: 28 3/4 x 12 15/16 in. (73 x 32.8 cm)
Overall: 57 1/8 x 20in. (145.1 x 50.8 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Object Number: 1975.268.141
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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