Collection Online as of August 15, 2022

Koma-inu: Guardian Lion-Dog

1185-1333

Part of a set. See all set records

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185-1333)

Wood with traces of polychromy

Overall: 49.6 cm (19 1/2 in.)

Dudley P. Allen Fund 1924.351.1

Location

not on view

Description

Placed at the entrance to shrines and temples in Japan, lion-like guardian figures warded off evil spirits. These lion-dogs are distinguishable by their faces: one looks fierce, mouth closed, while the other seems mid-roar, mouth agape. The idea of guardian-lions likely came to Japan from China via Korea, giving rise to the name koma-inu meaning "Korean dog."

Provenance

?-1924

Kuroda Takuma 黒田太久馬 [1867-?], Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1924-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1924-present

Citations

Sizer, Theodore. “A Note on the Japanese Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 11, no. 9, 1924, pp. 174–175 and 187. Mentioned: pp. 174-175; Reproduced: p. 187 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 275 archive.org

Mayuyama, Junkichi. Japanese Art in the West. [Tokyo]: Mayuyama & Co, 1966. Mentioned: p. 344; Reproduced: p. 49, pl. 61

Zenzo Shimizu 清水善三. "Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada," Ars Buddhica 佛教藝術, no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67-88. Reproduced: fig. 26

Exhibition history

Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Shinto: Discovering the Divine in Japanese Art 神道－日本美術における神性の発見. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-June 30, 2019).