Saturday, November 10, 2018

Byodoin Amitaabha - Jōchō


We just learned about the Tōdai-ji Nio Guardian Agyō by famous Japanese artist Unkei.

Another famous Japanese sculpture is the Byodoin Amitaabha by Jōchō, made around 1052 AD in Uji Japan.
This was a statue of Buddha made for one of the rulers in Japan.
It is oldest known statue made by Jōchō.

Jōchō became very famous and earned titles like Hokkyō (Master of the Dharma Bridge), and Hōgen (Master of the Dharma Eye).
Some people said he was the first of a new kind of master sculptor.
Others said that he was one of the most innovative artists Japan has ever produced.
He also was very good at a type of artwork called yosegi, which used a lot of pieces of wood to make a single sculpture.

We learned before about the famous artist Unkei, and he is actually the descendant of Jōchō, many years later.

(from: wikipedia - Jōchō)


(from: wikipedia - yosegi)


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