Description
Gatten, the moon god, is called Candra in Sanskrit. Here, he appears in the form of a bodhisattva. Originally, he was an Indian god, but was adopted as one of the Twelve Deities (Skt., <i>devas</i>) of Esoteric Buddhism (J., Mikkyô) and came to be a Buddhist guardian. This image was painted in 1127 (Daiji 2) for the <i>Goshichinichi-no-mishiho</i> (Austerities after the seventh day) ceremony held every New Year's at the Shingon-in Hall on the grounds of the Imperial Palace, in prayer for the peace of the nation. One of the characteristics of this painting is that the deity sits on a felt-covered pedestal. In this scroll, the attendant on the deity's left holds a half moon with a rabbit. In other versions, Gatten himself holds a moon in the palm of his hand or rides on a white goose.
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