Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Kozuka with the Oil Monk
(Japanese Military Armor)
This kozuka illustrates the Oil Monk, who appears in a story about the 11th-century warrior Taira no Tadamori. There were reports of a fire breathing dragon walking the streets of Kyoto one rainy night. When Tadamori set out to find and kill the dragon, he discovered it was only a monk carrying an oil lamp. When the monk blew on the lamp to keep it lit, he appeared to be breathing fire. The monk shelters himself from the rain under an umbrella.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Tokyo (Edo)
(Place of Origin)
Japan, Mito (Place of Origin)
Measurements
L: 3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.661