Description
<I>Fu-ten</I> is one of the <I>Twelve Devas</I> that were made in 1127 to be hung at the annual, New Year's ceremony of esoteric prayers, held at Shingon-in in the Imperial Palace. The scrolls were originally owned by Kyoogokoku-ji (To-ji) Temple. <P>
The twelve devas are the guardians of the four quarters and four semi-quarters, up and down, and the sun and moon. Fu-ten guards the northwest semi-quarter. <P>
The characters for <I>fu-ten</I> mean wind deva, and, accordingly, Fu-ten holds a scepter of the wind in his right hand. He is depicted as an old man. The elongated petals on the <I>hosoge</I> flower and arabesque patterns emanate a sense of dignified substance. Heavy layers of color on the face, large-scale patterns, sophisticated brushwork and a double-layered halo all contribute to the uniqueness of this elaborate <I>Fu-ten.</I>
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
July 20, 2026