Toshodaiji Temple Founder’s Hall: Master Jianzhen

JAPAN, Nara; Nara period

The statue of the Chinese Master Jianzhen, whose Japanese name is Ganjin, is housed in a niche in Toshodaiji Temple’s founder’s hall. It is available for public viewing for only three days in June each year. The sculpture was commissioned following the monk’s death in 763, and is a very early example of portrait sculpture. It was listed as a Japanese National Treasure in 1951.
The height of the statue reflects the actual person, and the facial appearance was modeled on his. It was constructed by the dry lacquer technique with no wooden frame. The realistic figure wears a reddish-orange inner robe, a brown monastic robe, and sits cross-legged with hands in dhyana (meditation) mudra. The square face appears peaceful, but the recessed eyes are shut to indicate his blindness. The robust bone structure and firm mouth display the strong will that brought him to Japan.