Seeing the Wood Buddha's By Priest-Sculptor Enku in Japan

THE JAPAN TIMES
BY RHIANNON PAGET

Enku's 'Standing Fudo Myo'o (Acala) with
two child attendants' (Edo Period) | SENKOJI TEMPLE

JAPAN---While a golden age for secular arts, Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867) is broadly dismissed by art historians as a period of stagnation for Buddhist sculpture. Although some scholars have challenged this view, the craftsmen who created religious imagery at that time remain in the shadow of their artistic forbearers. A notable exception to this is the priest-sculptor Enku (1632-1695), whose roughly hewn wooden sculptures are the subject of a new exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum. The exhibition comprises 100 statues from Buddhist and local folk belief, ranging from a few centimeters to over two meters in height. [link]

 Tokyo National Museum: “Enku’s Buddhas: Sculptures from Senkoji Temple and the Hida Region” (Ends April 7); www.tnm.jp.