Description
<I>Sui-ten</I> is one of the <I>Twelve Devas</I> scrolls that were produced in 1127 for the annual, New Year's ceremony of esoteric prayers held at Shingon-in in the Imperial Palace. They were formerly owned by Kyo'ogokoku-ji (To-ji) temple. <P>
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Sui-ten (Varuna) is a fair figure clothed in softly-colored and finely-decorated garments. He emerges gracefully from the dark-brown background like a water spirit, as his name, literally water deva, suggests. His knees are highlighted with white gradations and decorated with delicate, finely detailed patterns. Such decorative techniques are characteristic of the late-Heian Period when production of Buddhist paintings was at its height.<P>
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