Art Institute of Chicago

Female Shinto Deity

Japan

Date

12th century

Medium

Wood with traces of polychromy

Culture

Japan

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, female deities play an equally important role as their male counterparts. The earliest surviving sculptures of female Shinto deities date to the ninth century, and they often form a set with a depiction of the male deity Hachiman, the god of war. The goddesses’ identities are inexact, and such sculptures show a generic woman of the imperial court in secular dress. Here the deity’s stiff pose and blocklike shape recall other sculptures of this type, but her softened facial features and placid expression make it apparent that the artist was very skilled.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.