Untitled

Unknown

18th century · Painted wood · Asian Art

Portable shrines containing diminutive Buddhist sculptures are frequently used as personal devotional icons. This statue of the King of Brightness Fudō the “Immovable” was once owned by the famous grand champion (yokozuna) sumo wrestler Hitachiyama Taniemon (1874–1922), who toured the United States and Europe in 1907–8. He fought a wrestling match in New York, at which time he presented the Museum with this shrine. Fudō would have been a deity with whom a powerful wrestler could identify, for his role within Japanese Esoteric Buddhism is to use his superior strength to fight the evil and ignorance that are obstacles to enlightenment.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Painted wood

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of T. Hitachiyama, 1908