Museum collection · Art Institute of Chicago · 5821
Dragon King
Japan, 11th/early 12th century
Art Institute of Chicago · Gift of Robert Allerton · Public domain
- Artist
- Japan
- Date
- 11th/early 12th century
- Medium
- Magnolia wood with traces of pigment
- Dimensions
- H.: 102.2 cm (40 1/4 in.)
- Era
- Museum collection
Why it matters
This wooden sculpture is believed to belong to a group of more than twenty Shinto deities (kami) thought to have come from the Izumo district on the north coast of the island of Honshu. Thanks to recent research, it has been determined it is made from magnolia wood, a rare material for Shinto sculptures. The Dragon King, originally an Indian Hindu god, was gradually incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon. Veneration of this deity, who rules the seas, spread with Buddhism from India to China, and via Korea to Japan; there the Dragon King was further transformed into a Shinto god.