Eight Attendants of Fudō Myōō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fudō's youthful attendants, numbering two, four, eight, or sixteen, were thought to be multiples of his name, the many from one. Servants of the pantheon of Buddhist deities and equipped with supernatural powers, they increasingly became objects of religious interest during the Middle Ages in Japan. Portable shrines, or zushi as they are known in Japan, have been part of religious accoutrements from the very earliest years of Japanese Buddhism. The oldest extant example dates to the mid-seventh century and is housed in Hōryū-ji temple in Nara. This panel was most likely one of a pair of doors flanking a carved statue of Fudō.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art