Cleveland Museum of Art

Bodhisattva

Date

mid-1200s

Medium

wood with traces of lacquer, polychromy, and cut gold lear (kirikane)

Culture

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A Bosatsu (Bodhisattva in Sanskrit) is a being that has attained enlightenment but has compassionately refrained from entering nirvana in order to save others. As an attendant of Buddha, Bosatsu assumes many forms, all of which are worshipped as deities in Japanese Buddhism.

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