Ōtsu-e of Thirteen Buddhist Deities

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image of Thirteen Buddhist Deities was hung for memorials for the deceased held at fixed intervals over the days and years after death. Originally, a series of paintings depicting the deities individually was used, but this image combines them into one icon that could be employed repeatedly by less affluent families. The deities’ halos and mandorlas are woodblock printed with the same block, while a limited number of different blocks were used to give a measure of variety to the faces. The same block, for example, used for the head of the bodhisattva Jizō (Sanskrit: Kshitigarbha) was used for that of the King of Brightness, Fudō (Sanskrit: Achala) such that the latter loses his typically fierce countenance.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art