Fudo Myo-o (13th century): Artwork and History

Fudo Myo-o (13th century) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Japan.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

The name Fudo Myo-o means “the immovable or unshakable one.” He is one of five myo-o, or lords of light, whose threatening appearance guards the Law of Buddhism. He is equipped to guide the spiritual traveler past temptation on the path to enlightenment. Fudo’s bulging eyes, piercing stare, and protruding fangs express the intensity of his wrath against evil. Seated on a stylized rock formation that symbolizes his steadfastness, he once held his attributes, a rope and sword (these have been removed for conservation), which were used to subdue evil forces and to cut through the ignorance that is the source of suffering. This finely modeled figure reflects the highly detailed, realistic direction taken by Japanese sculptors in the Kamakura period (1185–1333).

Object facts

• Title: Fudo Myo-o
• Date: 13th century
• Artist attribution: Japan
• Place of origin: Japan
• Medium: Wood with polychromy and gilt-bronze accessories
• Dimensions: 62.3 × 36.9 × 34.3 cm (24 1/2 × 14 1/2 × 13 1/2 in.); O base: H.: 41.6 cm (16 3/8 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of Asia
• Reference number: 1958.321

Collection credit

Gift of the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Foundation

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.