Kasuga Deer Mandala (Kasuga shika mandara 春日鹿曼荼羅),

16th century

The deer shown in this painting is the steed of the deity Takemikazuchi no Mikoto, the Shintō god of thunder. Standing upon a rolling cloud, the white stag wears a brightly colored saddle festooned with jewels. Atop the saddle, a sacred evergreen sakaki tree cradles a large golden mirror. White strips of paper hang from the tree’s lower branches, which are interlaced with a wisteria flower vine. Although they are difficult to see, five seated figures are reflected in the mirror. They are the five Buddhist manifestations, or honjibutsu, of the deities (kami) of the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara—the most important Shintō shrine in Japan, founded in 768 CE. At the top of the painting, in the distance, a small landscape features mounds of multicolored, rolling hills and swirling clouds. The moon, a bright disc encircled with red pigment, is just visible beyond the hills.