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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
149099
label
Bishamonten Ritual Mirror
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
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
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79929948
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.)
cul
Japan, Heian period (794–1185)
accession
1977.32
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
creditline
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:39:51.434000
sourceId
149099
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
silvered bronze with incised design
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ea0283269d3e52f7