Zaō Gongen

This is a fragment from a mirror called a kakebotoke. A number of kakebotoke featuring Zaō Gongen, the guardian deity of Mount Kinpu, were recovered from the mountain. They would have been made and buried there as a devotional act, a means of consecrating the site, and to preserve their power for the future.

Credit: The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund