Cleveland Museum of Art

Shinto Deity

Date

900s

Medium

wood, with traces of polychromy

Culture

Japan, Heian period (794–1185)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This sculpture represents a kami, the name for deities associated with the Japanese religious tradition called Shinto. It is said to have originally been created for the Usa Hachiman Shrine in Oita on the island of Kyushu. The shrine houses four main kami: Hime Okami, who assists those engaged in agriculture andsea travel; the legendary 5th-century emperor Ojin deified as the kami Hachiman; Empress Jingu; and the kami of Mount Kawara, who aids copper miners. The pose of this figure, dressed in robes reminiscent of a Tang dynasty court lady, suggests that she may have been an attending deity. Traces of pigment on the surface of this sculpture indicate it was once painted.

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