Kozuka with Gate Guardian

Description The figure on the kozuka is one of the two guardians ("ni-ô") who guard the main south gate at Buddhist temples in Japan. These fierce looking figures protect temples from evil spirits. This is part of a mounted set.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquistion unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] 牧野春周; [Translation] Makino Haruchika; [Seal] Unread

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters