Artworks

Fukūkenjaku Kannon, Nan’endō, Kōfukuji

Artwork · Kōkei · 1189 · sculpture · Kōfuku-ji Temple

The main image of the South Octagonal Hall of Kōfukuji, made by Kōkei in 1189 to replace the original of 746, lost when the Taira burnt the temple in 1180. In style it stands between Jōchō’s Amida and Unkei’s Miroku: the proportions are close to Jōchō’s, but the eyes are of crystal, the urna of rock crystal and the carving of face and drapery deeper — a graceful reworking of the mid-Heian style. Kōkei, active 1175–1200, organized his son and disciples into the Kei school. 1 Mason 2005, pp. 188–189, fig. 217. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.