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Kasuga Deer Mandala
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineKasuga Deer Mandala (春日鹿曼荼羅図), mid-1300s–1400s. Japan, Nanbokuchō period (1333–92) 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1988.19
