Rankings 「Which of the Divine Generals would you choose as your guardian deity? Please select one from among the Twelve Divine Generals from Joruriji temple, Kyoto.」 Voting results (voting period：October 11 – November 26, 2017)
Highlights of the Exhibition
Part 1 From Father to Son: The Genesis of Unkei's Style
Part 2 Unkei's Style: Distinctive Sculptural Form
Part 3 Impact of Unkei's Style: Unkei's Sons and Other Sculptors of His Circle
Part 1 From Father to Son: The Genesis of Unkei's Style
Active in the early Kamakura Period, Unkei was one of the most influential artists in the history of Japanese Buddhist sculpture. As a youth, he honed his skill under the tutelage of his father Kokei, with whom he produced several collaborative works.
Kokei is thought to have been a student of the sculptor Kojo, whose main base of activity was in Nara. Around the time Kokei came to be recognized as a leading Buddhist sculptor of his day, his son and pupil Unkei produced his earliest extant work, Dainichi Nyorai (No. 4) for Enjoji temple in Nara.
The defining feature of the style perfected by the Nara-based sculptors were the clear lines created by sharp variations in the depth or shallowness of the carving. This style differed substantially from the smoother and more gentle style that had been perfected by the great sculptor Jocho, who flourished under the continued patronage of the Kyoto aristocratic elite. Both Kokei and Unkei maintained the primary features of the style they had inherited from earlier generations of Nara Buddhist sculptors but combined them with a wide range of other approaches and techniques to create their own distinctive artistic styles.
In this section, we trace their pursuit of the perfection of sculptural form by juxtaposing early works by Kokei and Unkei with pieces by other Nara Buddhist sculptors whose work directly influenced the evolution of their style.
Seated Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana Tathagata)
By Unkei
Heian period, dated 1176 (Angen 2)
National Tresure
Enjoji, Nara
Photo: courtesy of AsukaenSeated Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana Tathagata)
By Unkei
Heian period, dated 1176 (Angen 2)
National Tresure
Enjoji, Nara
Buddha Head
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1186 (Bunji 2)
Important Cultural Properties
Kohfukuji, Nara
Buddha Head
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1186 (Bunji 2)
Important Cultural Properties
Kohfukuji, Nara
Lotus Sutra, Volume 8, Known as Unkei gangyo ("Unkei's Sutra") （detail）
Heian period, dated 1183 (Juei 2)
National Tresure
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Part 2 Unkei's Style: Distinctive Sculptural Form
Unkei's original style can be observed for the first time in a set of five sculptures he carved for Ganjojuin temple in Shizuoka in 1186 (Bunji 2) at the order of the warrior Hojo Tokimasa. Judging from the quality of these images, it would appear that Unkei's artistic style had already matured fully by this time. Buddhist images produced at the behest of members of the warrior class associated with the Kamakura Shogunate make up a significant portion of Unkei's body of work. Perhaps for Unkei, such projects provided an opportunity to let his creativity run free, unconstrainted by the bounds of established tradition.
Nevertheless, it was Nara which remained the true center of Unkei's various activities. Around the year 1186 (Bunji 2), he carved the principal icon (Buddha Head, No. 6) of the newly rebuilt Western Golden Hall of Kohfukuji temple; in 1203 (Kennin 3) he fashioned a pair of enormous Vajra Warriors for Todaiji temple; and in 1212 (Kenryaku 2), he completed standing images of Mujaku Bosatsu and Seshin Bosatsu (No. 20) for the restored Northern Round Hall of Kohfukuji. Taken together, these and other works highlight the central role Unkei played in the restoration of Nara temples such as Kohfukuji and Todaiji in the wake of their destruction by the Taira forces during the Genpei Wars.
Unkei also received commissions from various aristocratic families. His rendition of the Eight Youths Attending Fudo Myo'o (No. 18) for Kongobuji temple in Wakayama imbues this group of coarse characters with an aura of intelligence and elegance on the one hand, and a brimming sense of vitality on the other.
We hope visitors will enjoy the masterful realism and powerful sense of movement characteristic of Unkei's style, which not only captures the materiality of the physical figure, but also suggests a spiritual depth not visible to the human eye.
Standing Bishamonten (Vaisravana)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1186 (Bunji 2)
National Tresure
Ganjojuin, Shizuoka
Photo: Tomohiro Muda
Standing Bishamonten (Vaisravana)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1186 (Bunji 2)
National Tresure
Ganjojuin, Shizuoka
Standing Eight Youth Attendants of Fudo Myo'o (Acala Vidyaraja): Seitaka figure and Eko figure
By Unkei
Kamakura period, ca. 1197 (Kenkyu 8)
National Tresure
Kongobuji, Wakayama
Eko (left), Seitaka (right)
Photo: Koyasan Reihokan Museum
Standing Eight Youth Attendants of Fudo Myo'o (Acala Vidyaraja): Seitaka and Eko
By Unkei
Kamakura period, ca. 1197 (Kenkyu 8)
National Tresure
Kongobuji, Wakayama
Seated Amida Nyorai and Two Standing Attendants *To be exhibited from October 21
Standing Fudo Myo'o (Acala Vidyaraja)
Standing Bishamonten (Vaisravana)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1189 (Bunji 5)
Important Cultural Property
Jorakuji, Kanagawa
Seated Amida Nyorai and Two Standing Attendants
Photo: Tomohiro Muda Seated Amida Nyorai and Two Standing Attendants
Photo: Tomohiro Muda Seated Amida Nyorai and Two Standing Attendants *on exhibit from October 21
Standing Fudo Myo'o (Acala Vidyaraja)
Standing Bishamonten (Vaisravana)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, dated 1189 (Bunji 5)
Important Cultural Property
Jorakuji, Kanagawa
Standing Mujaku Bosatsu (Asanga Bodhisattva) and Seshin Bosatsu (Vasubandhu Bodhisattva)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, ca. 1212 (Kenryaku 2)
National Tresure
Kohfukuji, Nara
Standing Seshin Bosatsu (Vasubandhu Bodhisattva) (left)
Standing Mujaku Bosatsu (Asanga Bodhisattva) (right)
Photo: Tomohiro Muda Standing Seshin Bosatsu (Asanga Bodhisattva) (left)
Standing Mujaku Bosatsu (Vasubandhu Bodhisattva) (right)
Photo: Tomohiro MudaStanding Mujaku Bosatsu (Asanga Bodhisattva) and Seshin Bosatsu (Vasubandhu Bodhisattva)
By Unkei
Kamakura period, ca. 1212 (Kenryaku 2)
National Tresure
Kohfukuji, Nara
Displayed for the first time outside Takisanji
Standing Shokannon Bosatsu (Aryavalokitesvara)
By Unkei and Tankei
Kamakura period, ca. 1201 (Shoji 3)
National Tresure
Takisanji, Aichi
Photo: Tomohiro Muda
Displayed for the first time outside Takisanji
Standing Shokannon Bosatsu (Aryavalokitesvara)
By Unkei and Tankei
Kamakura period, ca. 1201 (Shoji 3)
National Tresure
Takisanji, Aichi
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Part 3 Impact of Unkei's Style: Unkei's Sons and Other Sculptors of His Circle
Unkei had six sons, all of whom became Buddhist sculptors. Sculptures by Tankei, Koben, and Kosho survive to this day. The present exhibition focuses particularly on the work of Tankei and Koben.
As Unkei's successor, Tankei headed the Kei school of Buddhist sculpture until the middle of the 13th century. Several of his works are extant, including the seated image of the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu that serves as the principal icon of the Sanjusangendo hall of Rengeoin temple in Kyoto. Perhaps because it was produced in collaboration with the sculptor Kaikei, this image evokes Kaikei's refined and serene style more strongly than Unkei's powerful and dramatic approach. Other images by Tankei, such as his realistic and sensitive renderings of animals and young attendants, however, do hint at the influence of Unkei's work, to which Tankei added an individual note all of his own.
Unkei's influence is more readily apparent in the standing image of the demon Ryutoki (No.35), whose realistically rendered musculature suggests that its sculptor, Koben, may well have used an actual wrestler as his model.
The large groups of works to which Unkei might have contributed, or which were carved by his successors or contemporaries play an essential role in defining the sculptural style of this artistic genius. In this section, we therefore aim to give a sense of the diffusion of Unkei's style, both in his own time, and in the generation that followed.
All 12 brought together for the first time in 42 years
the Twelve Divine Generals
Attributed to the collection of Joruriji temple, Kyoto
Kamakura period, 13th century
Important Cultural Properties
Shishin (rat), Chushin (ox), Inshin (tiger), Boshin (rabbit), Goshin (horse), Yushin (rooster) and Gaishin (boar), Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo
Shinshin (dragon), Mishin (sheep), Shishin (snake), Jutsushin (dog) and Shinshin (monkey), Tokyo National Museum
Gaishin (boar)
Photo: Kyoto National Museum, Ai OkadaAll 12 brought together for the first time in 42 years
the Twelve Divine Generals
Attributed to the collection of Joruriji temple, Kyoto
Kamakura period, 13th century
Important Cultural Properties
Shishin (rat), Chushin (ox), Inshin (tiger), Boshin (rabbit), Goshin (horse), Yushin (rooster) and Gaishin (boar), Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo
Shinshin (dragon), Mishin (sheep), Shishin (snake), Jutsushin (dog) and Shinshin (monkey), Tokyo National Museum
Standing Demons Tentoki and Ryutoki
by Koben (Ryutoki)
Kamakura period, dated 1215 (Kenpo 3)
National Tresure
Kohfukuji, Nara
Ryutoki (left), Tentoki (right)
Photo: Tomohiro Muda
Standing Demons Tentoki and Ryutoki
by Koben (Ryutoki)
Kamakura period, dated 1215 (Kenpo 3)
National Tresure
Kohfukuji, Nara
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