The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 29, 2023

Kasuga Deer Mandala

春日鹿曼荼羅図

mid-1300s to 1400s

Japan, Nanbokuchō period (1336-92) to Muromachi period

(1392-1573)

Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on silk

Image: 95.6 x 39.1 cm (37 5/8 x 15 3/8 in.); Mounted: 184.2 x 63.8 cm (72 1/2 x 25 1/8 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1988.19

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The deity Takemikazuchi no Mikoto is shown as the Buddha Shakyamuni with a red robe.

Description

Riding on a rolling cloud, a spotted deer wears a brightly colored saddle. The saddle supports a branch of the evergreen Sakaki tree, trailing wisteria vines that cradle a large golden mirror. Within the mirror sit the five Buddhist manifestations (honjibutsu) of the deities (kami) of the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara. The presence of the deer—the vehicle of the deity Takemikazuchi no Mikoto of the first of the five halls of the shrine—and the characteristics of the mountain range at the top of the painting make clear the association with the sacred site of Kasuga. The painting was likely created for an individual’s personal devotions to the Kasuga deities

Provenance
Hinohara collection
?-1973
(Heisando Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1973-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Shugyoku no Nihon bijutsu: Hosomi korekushon no zenbō to Bosuton, Kurīburando, Sakkurā no wadaisaku : kaikan isshūnen kinen [珠玉の日本美術 : 細見コレクションの全貌と、 ボストン、クリ－ブランド、 サックラ－ の話題作 : 開館一周年記念 = The Legacy of Japanese art]]. Chiba City, Japan: Chiba-shi Bijutsukan, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 51
Vilbar, Sinéad, and Kevin Gray Carr. Shinto: Discovery of the Divine in Japanese Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 86-87, no. 31
Koyama-Richard, Brigitte. Animaux Dans La Peinture Japonaise. Lyon: Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2020. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 14–15
Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 237). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 29-December 23, 2013).

The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).

Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).

The Legacy of Japanese Art. Chiba City Museum of Art (organizer) (October 1-November 10, 1996).

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).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.19