Mandala of the Three Shrines at Kumano
This painting depicts the three shrines of Kumano from a bird’s-eye perspective, with the Buddhist counterparts of the kami of each shrine hall shown in discs directly above the halls. It also features figures, both pilgrims and deities, along the pilgrimage route and at the shrines. It is the only surviving work illustrating architectural representations of all three shrines in the same painting. They are compressed into a stacked composition, with the Nachi shrine at the top, the Shingū in the middle, and the Hongū at the bottom.
Details
- Palette
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- Dimensions
- image: height 1.34 m, width 0.62 m; overall: height 2.172 m, width 0.8 m
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- John L. Severance Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
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Mythology and Religion Both · 99%
The catalog identifies the work as a mandala of the sacred Kumano shrines and describes Buddhist counterparts of the kami; the image is organized around shrine architecture, ritual spaces, and sacred figures.
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Deities and Holy Figures Both · 97%
The catalog explicitly identifies deities and Buddhist counterparts, while the image shows repeated small haloed or icon-like figures in discs above the shrine halls and along the route.
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Landscapes and Waterscapes Both · 96%
Mountainous terrain, trees, winding paths, and prominent rivers or streams occupy the spaces between and around the three shrine complexes.
Visual Qualities
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Blown-Off-Roof Perspective Visual · 96%
The shrine precincts are shown from an elevated, partially plan-like viewpoint that exposes courtyards and building layouts, corresponding closely to the catalog's description of a bird's-eye perspective.
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Dense Composition Visual · 86%
Architecture, vegetation, waterways, paths, figures, and circular sacred images are densely distributed across the tall pictorial field, despite areas of open landscape between the complexes.
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Earth Tones Visual · 93%
Muted browns, ochres, greens, and blue-gray tones dominate the terrain, vegetation, water, and architectural grounds, with restrained red accents on the buildings.
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Highly Detailed Visual · 90%
The image contains fine, compact rendering of shrine buildings, courtyards, trees, paths, waterways, figures, and mountain forms.
Medium and Techniques
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Hanging Scroll Metadata · 100%
The catalog identifies the object as a hanging scroll.
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Painting Metadata · 100%
The catalog classifies the object as a painting and specifies ink and color on silk.
Time Periods
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1000 - 1400 CE Art Metadata · 100%
The catalog dates the work to the 1300s, which falls within the catalog's 1000–1400 CE range.
Geographic Regions
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Japanese Art Metadata · 100%
The catalog identifies Japan as the place of origin and classifies the work under Japanese Art.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Mandala of the Three Shrines at Kumano. Cleveland Museum of Art.