Guardian Deity

Guardian Deity, printed in 1964 as a stencil, presents one of the fearsome protective deities that stood at the entrances of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines — either a Nio (Deva King), a Raijin (Thunder God), or a similar apotropaic figure. Mori's bold stencil technique was well suited to these subjects: the guardian's exaggerated musculature, fierce expression, and elaborate armor or divine attributes translated naturally into the flat, bold color areas of kappazuri printing. The guardian figure had been a subject of Japanese religious art for over a thousand years, and Mori brought it into the mid-20th century sosaku-hanga context with his distinctive folk-art sensibility.