A JAPANESE WOOD FIGURE OF ZAŌ GONGEN

A JAPANESE WOOD FIGURE OF ZAŌ GONGEN
EDO PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

Typically depicted with a wrathful expression, balancing on one foot whilst holding a vajra, his other hand gesturing a mudra; raised on a tiered gilded base, 24.7cm.

The guardian deity of Mount Kinpu, Zaō Gongen appeared to the ascetic En no Gyōja as a powerful protector of the mountain. A fierce manifestation of Shakyamuni, Kannon, and Miroku, the deity represents the past, present, and future.