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Great Art in America: Fine Japanese Statuary

An over 750 year-old realistic wooden sculpture of a Zen Buddhist monk can be seen at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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Great Art in America: Fine Japanese Statuary
"Portrait of Hotto Enmyo Kokushi," circa 1295–1315, Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333). Part of a set; Hinoki cypress wood with lacquer, metal staples and fittings; 36 inches. Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund; The Cleveland Museum of Art. Public Domain
Lorraine Ferrier
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In a serene statue, the Zen monk Hotto Enmyo Kokushi sits poised, with his eyes closed and his hands in a mudra (one of the many Buddhist “mudras” or gestures that form a divine language).

We don’t know who carved this sacred portrait over 700 years ago, but Buddhists believe that whoever did would have earned himself spiritual merit.

Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.
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