Fujiwara no Muchimaro

Description

This portrait of Fujiwara no Muchimaro (680–737), a grandson of Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669), includes an image of Buddha Dainichi Nyorai above his head. By situating the image of Dainichi there, this painting would seem to assert that Muchimaro is an avatar of Dainichi. In the same way that kami could be identified with Buddhist counterparts, powerful humans could also be seen as manifestations of Buddhist deities. A similar painting is at Eizanji in Nara, of which Muchimaro is known as the founder. It was once a branch temple of Kōfukuji, the Fujiwara family temple.

Provenance

(Heisando Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1983); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1983–)

Fujiwara no Muchimaro

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1200s or 1300s

Accession Number

1983.5

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and cut gold on silk

Dimensions

Overall: 141.3 x 87 cm (55 5/8 x 34 1/4 in.); with knobs: 210.2 x 112.4 cm (82 3/4 x 44 1/4 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund