Cleveland Museum of Art

Aizen Myōō

Date

early 1300s

Medium

Wood with black lacquer and red pigments

Culture

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Buddhist deity Aizen Myōō channels carnal desire into a lust for spiritual enlightenment. In its principal right arm, this figure once held a vajra , a symbolic weapon used to cut through illusion, while its main left arm still grasps the vajra bell rung to bring one to awareness. The lion’s head in Aizen’s hair holds its mouth open to devour thoughts and desires. Holes along the front of the legs show where the sculpture’s base would have been attached. The torso, head, and legs of this figure were carved from a single block of wood. Four of the arms were carved separately.

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