Artworks

The Priest Ganjin

Artwork · Anonymous · 763 · statue · Tōshōdai-ji Temple

The earliest true portrait sculpture in Japan: Jianzhen, the Chinese monk who founded Tōshōdaiji, seated cross-legged in meditation, his blind eyes almost closed; in the Founder’s Hall, dated to the year of his death. The dry lacquer is painted, the brocade of the outer robe set against the flesh tones. 1 Mason 2005, p. 95, fig. 119. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.