Okadera Temple: Gien Sojo
Cypress wood
Okadera Temple: Gien Sojo
JAPAN, Nara, Takaichi; Nara period
The life size statue was carved near the end of the 8th century. It was assembled from several pieces of cypress wood with details added in lacquer and then painted. Gien is an eminent monk of the Hosso school of Japanese Buddhism, and is also the founder of Okadera Temple. The sculpture was listed as a National Treasure in 1957.
Both eyelids droop in the creased face of the philosopher monk who is portrayed with the long lobed ears of a Buddha. The simply depicted monastic robe falls open to reveal a body almost reduced to a skeleton. The figure sits cross-legged with one bent-fingered hand turned downward on the knee and the other upward. It may have once held a scepter of office.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, page 770.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr},
pages = 770,
title = {{Okadera Temple: Gien Sojo}},
volume = 12,
year = {2016}}