春日鹿曼荼羅 (Kasuga shika mandara)|Deer Mandala of Kasuga Shrine

Unknown

late 14th century · Hanging scroll; color on silk · Asian Art

By the fourteenth century, tendencies toward the synthesis of Buddhism and Shinto led to the belief in Shinto kami as manifestations of Buddhist deities. The deer, vehicle of the deity Takemikazuchi, rides on a cloud and wears a colorful saddle that supports an evergreen sakaki tree interlaced with wisteria vines. At the tree’s canopy is a golden mirror that includes images of the five Buddhist deities associated with the kami of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 14th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; color on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015