Shinto deity
Shinto deity
Place of OriginJapan
Date15th century
DimensionsH: 15 in. (38.1 cm)
MediumCarved hinoki wood; Ichiboku-zukuri (one piece of wood)
ClassificationSculpture
Credit LineBequest of Noah H. Swayne, by exchange
Object number
2006.35
Not on View
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Published ReferencesnoneLabel TextShinto dates back to the third century and is the indigenous religion of Japan. Followers believe in kami—spirits that live in plants, animals, trees, stones, and even waterfalls. Although originally Shinto had no tradition of making human-like images of kami, figures of Shinto gods began to appear in the seventh century under the influence of Buddhism, which had spread from India to Japan by way of Korea. Shinto statues were almost always made from a single piece of wood (in this case, from the hinoki tree, a type of cypress), with little or no color added. The figures were seen as a materialization of the kami, and the material they were fashioned from was the preferred residence of the spirit on earth. This image might have been used in a household shrine or given as a gift to a temple.- Sculpture
12th century
Early 20th century
Third to first century BCE
Head and hindquarters: early 20th century; Body: probably 7th-1st century CE
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