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Bishamonten, the Buddhist guardian of the North, appears here with an entourage. Early votive mirrors like this one are called <em>kyōzō</em>, literally “mirrors with images.” One theory is that they appeared along with the development of Shinto-Buddhist combinatory thought, in which specific Buddhist deities were identified with specific kami, or Shinto deities. In this theory, sacred mirrors venerated as proxies for kami came to be incised with images of Buddhist deities. Another idea is that they developed in the context of Esoteric Buddhist ritual.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
ea0283269d3e52f7
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
149099
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "149099",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Bishamonten Ritual Mirror",
    "description": "Bishamonten, the Buddhist guardian of the North, appears here with an entourage. Early votive mirrors like this one are called <em>kyōzō</em>, literally “mirrors with images.” One theory is that they appeared along with the development of Shinto-Buddhist combinatory thought, in which specific Buddhist deities were identified with specific kami, or Shinto deities. In this theory, sacred mirrors venerated as proxies for kami came to be incised with images of Buddhist deities. Another idea is that they developed in the context of Esoteric Buddhist ritual.",
    "date": "1000s–1100s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.32",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Japan, Heian period (794–1185)"
    ],
    "accession": "1977.32"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "149099",
    "label": "Bishamonten Ritual Mirror",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "149099",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Bishamonten Ritual Mirror",
    "description": "Bishamonten, the Buddhist guardian of the North, appears here with an entourage. Early votive mirrors like this one are called <em>kyōzō</em>, literally “mirrors with images.” One theory is that they appeared along with the development of Shinto-Buddhist combinatory thought, in which specific Buddhist deities were identified with specific kami, or Shinto deities. In this theory, sacred mirrors venerated as proxies for kami came to be incised with images of Buddhist deities. Another idea is that they developed in the context of Esoteric Buddhist ritual.",
    "date": "1000s–1100s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.32",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79929948"
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Japan, Heian period (794–1185)"
    ],
    "accession": "1977.32"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "silvered bronze with incised design",
    "tombstone": "Bishamonten Ritual Mirror (毘沙門天鏡像), 1000s–1100s. Japan, Heian period (794–1185). Silvered bronze with incised design; diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 1977.32",
    "titleInOriginalLanguage": "毘沙門天鏡像",
    "collection": "Japanese Art",
    "didYouKnow": "Bishamonten sits on a demon who struggles beneath his weight.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1977.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 65, no. 1 (1978): 2–42.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: no. 148, p. 36; Mentioned: no. 148, p. 43",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159560"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.32",
    "creditline": "The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 07:39:51.434000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 149099,
    "dept": "Japanese Art",
    "coll": "Japanese Art",
    "med": "silvered bronze with incised design",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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