Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) with an ox
date: label: Date
content: 16th century
label: Period
content: Muromachi period
notes: label: Label
content: The teachings and imagery of Zen Buddhism had a profound impact on Japanese religious beliefs and practice during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. In this painting, the deified Japanese scholar and government official Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), known posthumously as Tenjin (heavenly deity), is represented walking beside an ox. The image alludes to the Zen Buddhist allegory of an ox and herdsman who illustrate the process of seeking and attaining enlightenment. Michizane was a court official whose unjust death in exile led to widespread worship of him to assuage his angry spirit. Elements of both Shinto and Buddhist belief coexisted in Tenjin worship. In his Zen Buddhist association, the literary accomplishments of Michizane as a poet in the Chinese language were praised; a fourteenth-century legend maintained that Tenjin had miraculously crossed the sea to China to study Zen Buddhism, and there had been taught by a Chinese master and presented with a Buddhist robe. Here he is dressed in a white Japanese court garment, holding a branch of blossoming plum, an emblem of his literary accomplishments.
label: Label
content: The work exhibits an unusual combination of painting styles, suggesting that a painter trained in the meticulous style prevalent at the imperial court had also seen and copied new styles of ink painting that came from China to Zen Buddhist monasteries. The rendering of the ox in ink washes reflects knowledge of this Chinese style, while the figure is rendered with the precision and technical finesse of traditional Japanese court painting.
label: Provenance
content: Mr. Kawahara Osaka [1]
label: Provenance
content: To 1908
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1908 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1908 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1908 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to a note from the Original Kakemono List (see Curatorial Remark 3 in the object file). See also, F1904.344, Curatorial Remark 3, in the object record.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See Original Kakemono List, pg. 161, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 2.
label: Provenance
content: [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art--Shinto (October 12, 1976 to December 10, 1976)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Mr. Kawahara
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Muromachi period (1333 - 1573)
label: Topic
content: man
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1908.21
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 53.5 × 24.3 cm (21 1/16 × 9 9/16 in)