大将軍神像|Daishōgun (Great General)

Unknown

11th–12th century · Wood with traces of color · Asian Art

Daishōgun is a guardian of the cardinal directions, a powerful and popular deity in ancient Japan, where certain directions were seen as the source of great danger. According to the practices of Onmyōdō, the Way of Yin-Yang, the most perilous direction shifted every three years. Daishōgun icons were moved regularly to safeguard people from menacing cosmic forces in the most vulnerable times and places. Imagined as a bearded and red-faced warrior wearing a helmet and suit of armor, he would have originally held a sword in his right hand.

Artist

Unknown

Date

11th–12th century

Medium

Wood with traces of color

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1917