The Leroi-Gourhan collection

The Japanese Pantheon database brings together most of the iconography of Japan's religions preserved at the MEG (762 objects).
The core of the collection has been assembled by André Leroi-Gourhan (1911-1986). A graduate in Russian and Chinese from the Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Leroi-Gourhan stayed in Japan from 1937 to 1939, on a scholarship from the Japanese government. Later in life, he was to become the famous ethnologist and prehistorian, and a professor at the Collège de France. During his stay, Leroi-Gourhan collected, among other things, some 700 iconographic documents on shintō and Japanese Buddhism. After his death, this collection was donated to the MEG by his wife Arlette Leroi-Gourhan (1913-2005), who became known as the initiator of prehistoric palynology.

Ofuda

The main part of this collection consists of ofuda, a term designating vignettes distributed by temples to pilgrims and representing, most often, the statue revered in the temple but usually hidden from public view. Leroi-Gourhan also brought back a few dozen ofuda to the Musée de l'Homme, which are currently kept at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.

The MEG database also includes artifacts that are part of a bequest from the woman of letters Kikou Yamata (1897-1975), wife of the painter Conrad Meili (1895-1969), as well as various pieces collected by Jean Eracle (1930-2005), curator of the MEG's Asia department.

A random object

Formulate a request

The search engine is case-insensitive (buddha = Buddha).
Amida Nyorai searches for records containing both terms.
Amida -Nyorai excludes the presence of the second term.
Ami* searches for all words beginning with Ami.
"le Grand maître" searches for records containing the literal phrase.

Terms and Conditions of Use

• The MUSINFO database exploits the collections kept in the reserves of the Museum of Ethnography.
• The scientific information presented is provisional and reflects a documentation work still in progress.
• Use of the collections database is authorized for research and personal use.
• Any extraction, reproduction, printing, publication or citation of texts or images may not be made without the prior written consent of the Museum of Ethnography.

Photographic reproduction rights

Photographic reproduction request form