Seated Zenki and Koki

1400s

Seated Zenki and Koki, 1400s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). Wood with pigment; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Sundry Art - Japanese/Korean and Lillian Kern Memorial Fund 2012.40 The axe-wielding red Zenki, and the vase-porting, bamboo backpack-wearing green Koki are both under the mystical control of the monk, En no Ozunu (legendarily 634–701), also known as En no Gyōja, or “En the Ascetic,” and considered to have founded Shugendō, a style of religious practice focused on performing austerities in mountainous settings. A popular Japanese comic named Zenki was inspired by the figure seen here wielding a weapon.