The Battle between the Shinto Storm God, Susanoo, and the Eight-Headed Dragon
Wooden votive tablets called ema were made for display at a shrine affiliated with Japan’s native religion, Shinto. This ema illustrates a tale of the Shinto god of storms, Susanoo, in which he kills an eight-headed dragon with a powerful sword.
Ema were placed at shrines by individuals as personal prayers. They would be displayed in the open air where gods could see them, or hung in pairs, guarding the entrance to the shrine’s main worship hall. The weathered appearance of this tablet results from its long exposure to the elements.
With the Tokyo Art Club, Tokyo, Japan, by October 30, 1928;
Purchased from the Tokyo Art Club by the dealer K. Matsuki, Kamakura, Japan, October 30, 1928-1932 [1];
Purchased from Matsuki, through Langdon Warner (1881-1955), by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
NOTES:
[1] Letter from K. Matsuki to Langdon Warner, Nelson-Atkins Advisor, October 31, 1931, and "Kansas City - Itemized Purchases in China and Japan, 1932," no. A-1, Harvard Pusey Library, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 15, folder 28, copies in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.
