Seiryū Gongen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seiryū Gongen is a female deity who protects Daigoji, a Shingon-sect Esoteric Buddhist temple in south Kyoto. Seiryū can be written with different Chinese characters, meaning either “pure waterfall” or “blue dragon”—a nod to her scriptural origins as the third daughter of the Dragon King, Shagara, who is associated with the sea and rainmaking. Based on an earlier painting once owned by Daigoji, this work shows her holding a wish-fulfilling jewel. Having just opened a sliding door, she looks down at a small girl holding a book. According to an inscription on the earlier work, the picture illustrates the dream vision of a certain Daigoji monk who described having seen the goddess deliver to a young girl teachings on Buddhist herbal medicine.

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