Portrait of Fujiwara no Kamatari (614-669), accompanied by two sons

Object Details

• Label

  This portrait of the Japanese aristocrat Fujiwara no Kamatari (614- 669) and his two sons is a religious icon. It represents Kamatari in the setting of an enshrined Shinto deity, with the shrine's curtains pulled back and three sacred mirrors overhead. Wearing formal black robes and carrying a baton that symbolizes his rank and authority, he sits in front of a screen painted with wisteria (fuji), an emblem of his family. Worship of Kamatari as a Shinto god (kami) began shortly after his death and continues today near Nara City where his sons, depicted smaller here because they are not gods, enshrined his remains. Kamatari was revered as a protector of legitimate imperial rule and as the ancestor of the powerful Fujiwara family.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Way of the Kami (May 11 to November 3, 2019)

  The Historical Buddha and Friends (November 3, 2018 to May 5, 2019)

  Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006)

  Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to November 21, 1995)

  Portraiture from Japan (July 1, 1983 to April 5, 1984)

  Japanese Art--Shinto (October 12, 1976 to December 10, 1976)

  Japanese Art (October 2, 1975 to October 8, 1976)

  Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)

  Japanese Art, Galleries 3, 4, and 5 (January 1, 1963 to September 16, 1970)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1400s

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Japanese Art, Shinto, Portraits, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings