2024-03-06

Welcome to Enku !

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Welcome to Master Carver Enku 円空 !
[1632? - 1695]


This BLOG is dedicated to my friend Grisha Dotzenko,
who introduced me to Enku more than 30 years ago.





This book by my friend and fellow kyudo archer Dotzenko covers all the aspects of Enku's art.
Grisha lived in Kamakura while we were there too, introducing me to Enku, Mokujiki and a lot more of Buddhist Art.
I owe a lot to this wonderful person.





"ENKU, MASTER CARVER"
by Dotzenko. Grisha, F.

Kodansha International Ltd. Toyko, 1976.
Monograph of the itinerant Buddhist priest who roamed remote villages in Japan
leaving thousands of his inimitable "hatchet-carved" statues.


Enku also wrote poetry:
. Waka 和歌 by Enku .


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. Statues carved by Enku - main LIST .



. Enku - Exhibitions - INFO .

. Enku - Museums - INFO .

. Enku - Temples and Shrines - INFO .

. Enku in Hokkaido - INFO .

. Enku and the Mountains of Japan - INFO .






Check the CONTENTS on the top of the right sidebar!


This BLOG is still under construction.
Please come back!

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. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .


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. Enku on Facebook .

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2024-01-06

Enku - Introduction

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How a piece of wood becomes a Buddha Statue
in the hands of Enku


In the forest


a vision


taking shape


source : from Honda, infoseek



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Look at more Fudo Myo-O Statues by Enku 不動明王 
. Enku and his Fudo Statues 円空仏



Some safekeep copys of the Fudo Pictures are here, starting from #49.
My Photo Album : Fudo Myo-O


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- - - - - Short Biography

1632 寛永 9 (?)
born in Mino Province, Gifu Prefecture, Minami village
美並村瓢が岳山麓

1650 慶安3
He lost his mother in the great flood of river Naragawa 長良川

1663 寛文 3
becomes a Buddhist priest at Kaigawa Temple 美並村粥川寺

1665 寛文 5
After practising austerities in a cave at Mount Ibuki he travelles to Hokkaido
伊吹山平等岩 Ibukiyama no Byoodoo iwa 平等岩 Byodo-Iwa

1669 - 1671 寛文 9 - 11
after travelling in Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kanto he returns to Kaigawa Temple

1674 延宝 2
Practising austerities at Mount Omine, Sho no Iwaya, writing Waka
大峯山 - 笙の窟

1676 延宝 4
Walks in Japan as a meandering monk - 日本修行乞食沙門

1685 貞享 2
visits River Niukawa, Temple Zenko-Ji and the Hida region, carving statues
丹生川, 千光寺 や飛騨各地

1689 元禄 2 - Genroku 2
Walks in Japan as a meandering monk in Omi and Kanto, carving more statues

1692 元禄 5
Praying for rain (amagoi) at Kooga jinja 高賀神社 Koga shrine
洞戸村, 高賀神社

1695 元禄8 - 7月13日
He confirms his successor carver, Enchoo 円長 Encho.


1695, 15th day of the 7th lunar month 元禄 8 - 7月15日
at age 64 - enters into the next life at Saki town, Temple Miroku-Ji
関市池尻, 弥勒寺



. Temples and Shrines visited .
with the dates of the statues carved there


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Enku walked all along Japan and attended mostly to the poor people. If he could not help the dying in a village any more, he would take a piece of firewood from a man's hut, cut a rough figure of Kannon Bosatsu and give it to the poor, telling him or her to use it as a guide on the trip to the nether world.

He also cut rough koppa butsu 木っ端仏, statues from scrap, to console poor mothers who had lost their babies, either through accidents or on purpose, since they could not feed and raise female babies in many regions of Northern Japan. (By the way, many Kokeshi (1) こけし were carved for that purpose too.)


.. .. .. .. .. Koppa-Butsu Statues こっぱぶつ
CLICK for more photos

On the Tsugaru penninsula, there are many temples who still house one or two Enku Statues. In one temple I visited, we could not see it, because, as the priest told me, the statue was all eaten by mice.
Well, how come the mice eat wood? I asked him.
Poor people throw a handful of rice over the statues after the harvest as an offering and thank, and the Enku statues have many nooks where the rice is left. In winter, the mice come feeding on these offerings, picking bit by bit off the wood too.


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Self-Portrait of Enku in Seki, Gifu 自刻像
善財童子 (通称 自刻像)神明神社 所蔵
http://www.city.seki.gifu.jp/kankou/seki/enku.html


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Born in Gifu Prefecture, Enku the Priest
traveled on foot throughout Japan and carved approximately 120,000 wooden images of Buddha during his lifetime. He is said to have had no permanent home, however, during his latter years, he rooted himself deeply into the town of Seki. After the restoration of the Mirokuji Temple, he entered a stationary life to attain Buddhahood during his lifetime on the banks of the Sagami River in Seki.



Today, there remain over 150 images of "Enku Buddha"  円空仏 carved by Enku the Priest. "Enku Buddha", a simple wooden statue dynamically carved with a single hatchet, may appear unrefined, however, the faces of Buddha express affluent emotions. His unique style has also attracted fans from overseas, enjoying high appraisal.

Enku went on a pilgrimage all over Japan, and carved Buddhist statues one after another. More than 150 statues by Enku have been identified and authenticated in Seki City, and it has been said that he entered nirvana in this area. A memorial stela for his entrance to nirvana now stands there, silently looking at the Nagara River.

The Enku House
The Enku House is a resource center featuring Enku the Priest who is strongly associated with Seki City. Built to be the main attraction for the historical park plan, here you will find displays of his carved Buddha images and an introduction of his entering into the life of Buddhahood.It is the core facility for the Field Museum, interlocking the Mirokuji Temple, where Enku spent his latter years, and the Sagara River, where he attained Buddhahood. Many of the images of Buddha carved by Enku, which are found within the city, are displayed here.
http://www.sekikanko.jp/e/guide/enku.html


Enku's Grave at the temple Miroku Ji 弥勒寺
http://www.nihonkoenmura.jp/theme3/enku04.htm


Enku made 120,000 wooden images of Buddha during his life-long pilgrimage on which he visited many parts of Japan, including Hokkaido. It is said that he reached Seki and died here. Though he led his life as a poor pilgrim and traveling artist, he is said to have been an almsgiver all his life. When we look at his wooden statue of himself, we can feel his warm personality.
入定塚 Nyujo-tsuka is Enku's grave.
It is said that in 1688 he was buried here.

Buddhist prayers were the passion that drove him to a lifelong commitment to art and recited many while many villagers watched in sorrow. Mirokuji Temple Ruin is the remains of a temple reconstructed by Enku in his later years. We can still see the remains of a tower built in the Hakuho period.
http://www.nhk-chubu-brains.co.jp/DDT-E/gifu/seki/enku.html


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Enku - Life to Live - A Film
円空 今に生きる
source : cinema1.jp



There was also a TV special in 1988 about Enku,
played by Tamba Tetsuro, and Kiki Kirin as the nun with the smiling face.
丹波哲郎、 倍賞美津子 (勢似)、樹木希林( 陀羅尼)
and Matsuo Basho  松尾芭蕉, played by Nakamura Katsuo 中村嘉葎雄.
I remember this as one of the most impressive TV re-creations of a personal history.
source : tvdrama-db.com


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Enku, unlike traditional sculptors, sculptured freely, roughly, and unexpectedly by using one piece of scrap wood and timber sent afloat down a river.
Koppabutsu 木っ端仏 are made from scrap pieces of wood.
He was an extraordinary novelist in the early Edo era who expressed his strong religious believe in carving.

Images of 12 Heavenly Generals 十二神将


Saitama Prefecture



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Contribution from a friend, July 2006

Enku: Sculptor of a Hundred Thousand Buddhas,

by Kazuaki Tanahashi, Shambhala,

At the time the book was published, he taught various subjects at the Zen Center in San Francisco. It has 87 black and white plates of Enku's work, plus a number of comparative line drawings of various subjects, illustrating how Enku's style evolved from his early period to his late period. There are also a number of Enku's poems (English only).

What I first liked about Enku, when I came across Dotzenko's book, were the woodchip Buddhas (koppa 木っ端). He put me in mind of Alberto Giacometti, who sculpted elongated, attenuated human figures. From Wikipedia, about Giacometti:

"Obsessed with creating his sculptures exactly as he envisioned through his unique view of reality, he often carved until they were as thin as nails and reduced to the size of a pack of cigarettes, much to his consternation."

As Kazuaki Tanahashi traveled around Japan with the photographer Tetsuo Kuribara, he collected folklore about Enku and his work. My favorite, from 'a man in Hida':

When I was a child, there were a lot of Enku's Buddhas in my village temple. They kept them standing in rows on the altar in a small prayer-house there. The old caretaker once said to me, 'You know those Buddhas Enku carved? They certainly are whimsical . . . whenever you count them, you get a different number.'

' Why, what do you mean?' I asked.
' Well, it's because they're always going out to play.'


Footnote to this by Gabi Greve:
Children used the statues of Enku and Mokujiki to play with. For example, one statue was frequently thrown in the shallow river of the village in summer, and the children could swim for it to get it back.

Statues of Mokujiki where carved hollow in the backside, so the kids could use it as a sledge in wintertime.
The faces of these statues are completely worn out.


Read more about ......... Mokujiki 木喰 The Wood Eater



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. Enku - Exhibitions - INFO .

. Enku - Museums - INFO .

. Enku - Temples - INFO .

. Legends about Enku 円空と伝説  .



Yakushi Temple in Nagoya 鉈薬師の円空仏

http://www.a-namo.com/ku_info/chikisaku/pages_n/enku_butsu.htm


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. Hida no takumi 飛騨の匠 expert craftsmen from Hida .


Mokujiki 木喰 (1718-1810) and Enkū 円空 (1632-1695)
. Yanagi Sōetsu, Sooetsu 柳宗悦 Yanagi Soetsu Muneyoshi .



. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .

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2024-01-04

Mokujiki

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木喰 The Mokujiki Priests of Japan

Mojujiki "eating wood" is a general term for a severe ascetic practice of Buddhist monks and priests.
mokujikikai 木食戒 mokujiki kai, vow (commandment) to eat "only wood"

The vow is not to eat grains any more (kokudachi 穀断ち ), 断穀行
五穀断ち not eating five sorts of grains / / 十穀断ち not eating ten sorts of grains

The aim of this ascetic practise is to become a
. sokushinbutsu miira 即身仏のミイラ / 肉身仏 living mummy asceticism .

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Saint Mokujiki 木喰上人 / 木食 statue carver
Mokujiki Myooman 木食明満 Mokujiki Myoman / Mokujiki Gogyō 木喰五行 Gogyo

(1718 - 1810)


source : fr.wikipedia.org


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Saint Mokujiki and his Fudo 木喰の不動さま



source : tabino.sakura.ne.jp


Saint Mokujiki was born in Marubatake in 1718.
He converted to Buddhism when he was 22 years old, and received his ordination with the name Mokujiki at the temple Rakanji in Tokiwa at the age of 45.
Mokuji underwent a type of severe ascetic training that does not allow the consumption of grains, fish, boiled food and salt. He kept to the rules of this training for his entire life.

He went on a pilgrimage throughout Japan until he was 93, and carved more than 1000 Buddist images during this time.
In his old age,
when he had passed 80 years, he realized that people need something kind and gentle to become kind themselves.

「みな人の心を丸くまんまるに   どこもかしこも丸くまん丸」

"Peoples hearts need to be all round,
everything needs to be all round and smooth!"


He then started carving Buddha statues with the special smile on their faces, for which he is now so famous. The smile and roundness makes his statues so different from the ones of his fellow Enku.



Smiling Guardian Deity for the People, Mori Town - Renge-Ji
Marubatake 丸畑 Kitagawa Minobu-Cho Minamikoma-Gun Yamanashi

Click HERE to look at more of his Fudo statues !!!!!

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(Jizō Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩)

Please read this extensive article and come back :

. And Mokujiki’s smile revealed true beauty to Yanagi Sōetsu Muneyoshi .
François Macé
Mokujiki 木喰 (1718-1810) and Enkū 円空 (1632-1695)


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Exhibition at Isetan 2009 - Enku and Mokujiki

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CLICK to see more of his 薬師如来 Yakushi Nyorai statues!


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From temple Enzoo-Ji 円蔵寺 Enzo-Ji, Joetsu Town, Niigata
and a statue of 毘沙門天 Bishamonten
木喰上人は、俗姓を伊藤といい、享保3年山梨県に生まれ、22歳で仏門に帰依し、その後45歳で木喰戒(火食を絶ち、五穀をさける)を受け、92歳でこの世を去るまで、5度の日本回国を行いました。
この仏像は、文化3年円蔵寺で彫られたものです。上人は、昼、寺に集まる人々の病気や苦悩の相談相手となり、夜は黙々とナタをふるい、一夜に最高3体を刻んだと言われています。
瑞天寺 Suiten-Ji
https://www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp/soshiki/ogata-ku/ogata-miryoku-5-1.html


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通力自在不動明王
(木喰上人筆)Writing by Mokujiki, around 1802

The stone is about 90 cm high and 50 cm wide.



不動明王を表す梵字の左側には「日月清明」、右側には「天下和順」の小さな文字がある。

なきがらは いづこのうらに すつるとも みは御嶽に あり明けの月

nakigara wa izuko no ura ni sutsuru to mo mi wa Ontake ni ari ake no tsuki

- source : 長野県の芸術・文化情報センター -


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. 狸谷山不動院 Tanukidaniyama Fudo Temple .
In 1718, Saint Mokujiki practised severe ascetics in the cave here for 17 years.


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Mokujiki Ōgo, Mokujiki Oogo 木食應其 / 木食応其 Mokujiki Ogo
(1536 - 1608) 天文5年(1536年)- 慶長13年10月1日(1608年11月8日))
Mokujiki Shonin "wood eating holy Buddhist monk"
A priest of the Shingon sect and scholar of literature.
Also called 深覚坊応其.
A renga poet, living in 近江国 Omi, a member of the 佐々木 Sasaki clan. With his father he fought Oda Nobunaga at the temple 近江観音寺 Kannon-Ji, now in ruins.
In 1573, aged 38, he became a monk at 高野山 Mount Koyasan.
Later he influenced Toyotomi Hideyoshi not to burn the temple at Koyasan.
He was in charge of the funeral for Toyotomi Hideyoshi.



He worked at the temples 応其寺、興山寺、飯道寺 and others.

His famous three-chapter treatiese of renga linked verse is
Mugonshoo, Mugon shō 無言抄 (1603) Mugonsho, Mugon-Sho



Exhibition in Wakayama Museum 和歌山県立博物館

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. Saint Mokujiki Tanshoo 木喰但唱 Mokujiki Tansho .
and temple 万竜寺 Manryu-Ji, Nagano - around 1611
木食修行, eating only barks of trees and a few vegetables for 1000 days.
and
his disciple Mokujiki Kansho 閑唱上人

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Mokujiki Gikoo Soojoo 木食義高僧正 Mokujiki Giko Sojo
grandchild of 足利義輝 Ashikaga Yoshiteru (1536 - 1565)

In 1710, he founded this temple in Edo :
. Enmanji 圓満寺 / 円満寺 Enman-Ji .
文京区湯島1-6-2 / 1 Chome-6-2 Yushima, Bunkyō ward

Anther priest Mokujiki is related to this temple, in 1819 :
木食の沙門 Mokujiki no Samon -
Odawara no Kanshoo 小田原観正 Kansho from Odawara / 木食上人観正 / 木食観正上人 (1754 -1829)
木食円満寺江着任候 観正僧正 /  / 観正行者

Kansho was born to a fisherman family in 淡路島 Awaji Island (Hyogo) and later active in Odawara.
It seems Kansho was very popular "with men and women, with young and old".
In 1784, when he was 30 years old, 木食観正 traveled all around Japan to hold serviced for the dead, prayed for rain and good harvest and the wellbeing of the farmers. But it seems he also collected a lot of money on this trip.
He came back to Edo. In March 1829 there was a great fire in Edo, which was blamed on the bad prayers of Kansho. So he was taken to prison and put to death by 寺社奉行 the Magistrate of Temple and Shrine Affairs, but it is not clear what crime he was charged with. He died in prison in June.


- reference : fujimizaka.wordpress.com -

Memorial stone of Mokujiki Kansho in Mishima (Shizuoka)
where he stayed in 1819,


source : city.mishima.shizuoka.jp

Memorial stone of Mokujiki Kansho in Saitama

in the compound of temple 三学院. Erected in 1821.
The round top shows the 大日如来の種子 seed syllable for Dainichi Nyorai.
Kansho visited the town of 蕨 Warabi in 1820.


source : city.warabi.saitama.jp



近世の遊行聖と木食観正
西海賢二 Nishikai Kenji (1951 - )
近世の遊行聖である木食観正上人をはじめ徳本上人ら二〇余名の民間宗教者の活動を解明。彼らと、村落内部に多数存在した講集団はどのような関係にあったのか。信仰的社会集団である講集団と遊行聖の実態を探り出す。
Ⅰ= 近世遊行聖研究の課題と方法(課題と方法??研究史の回顧と展望を兼ねて民俗的世界をみる??〈講集団研究の歩み/一九八〇年代以降の民間宗教者研究/一九九〇年代以降の聖・巡礼研究/聖・巡礼研究の新展開/仏教民俗学への再照射/六十六部研究の新展開〉/近世民間宗教者の特質〈近世民間宗教者と民衆思想/近世民間宗教者と在地修験/近世民間宗教者と身分的社会/近世民間宗教者と身分的周縁〉)
Ⅱ= 木食観正の研究(淡路島における木食観正〈木食観正の出自をめぐって/喜作と百姓一揆/行者喜作の宗教活動/初期木食観正の活動/木食

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Gyooshoo 行勝 Gyosho (1130 - 1217)

Mokujiki Sankyo 木喰山居 (1657 - 1724)

Mokujiki Yooa 木食養阿 Yoa (? - 1763)

Mokujiki Byakudoo 木食白道 Byakudo (1755 - 1826)

Tokuhon 徳本 (?1758 - 1818)


Nichikan Shonin 日鑑上人 of the Nichiren sect, lived in Chiba, 丸山町 Maruyama Town.
During a drought he sat on top of the hill and prayed for rain and after 2 days it rained indeed.
He then continued his mokujiki asceticism and became a "Buddha in the flesh" 肉身仏 after death.
- source : nichibun yokai database -


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BACK TO

Who made Buddha Statues ? - Mark Schumacher

Buddhist Sculptors Gallery


Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


- #Mokujiki -
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. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .


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2024-01-02

Statues carved by Enku

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Names of statues carved by Enku

. Temples and Shrines visited .
with the dates of the statues carved there


ー self portrait


Aizen Myo-O 愛染明王
. Aizen Myo-O 愛染明王 .

. Akiba Daigongen 秋葉大権現 .

ama 尼 nun

Amaterasu Oomikami 天照大神

Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来

Anera Taishoo あねら 大将


. Bishamon Ten 毘沙門天 Tamonten (Vaishravana) .


. Daikoku Ten 大黒天  .


. En no Gyooja  役行者 En no Gyoja .


Fudo Myo-O 不動明王
. Fudo Myo-O 不動明王 .


Fujiwara Mitsutaka 藤原みつたか


日光月光菩薩
. Gakko Bosatsu, Nikko Bosatsu 日光月光菩薩 .

. Garuda 迦楼羅 . 烏天狗 Karura as Karasu Tengu .


. Gohoojin  護法神 Protectors of the Buddhist law .
- - - - - Toomaru Otsu Gohoojin 乙丸乙護法神像


.
Inari Myoojin  稲荷明神  Fox Deity  .



Jikei Daishi 慈恵大師

Jizoo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩

Juuni Shinshoo 十二神将  12 heavenly generals


. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro 柿本人麻呂 Hitomaru 人丸 / 人麿 . - Waka poet - (c. 662 – 710)

. Kankiten 歓喜天 Kangiten, Ganesh .


Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩  - - - in many variations
. Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩  .

- - - - - . rokumen Kannon 六面観音 with six faces .
choojoo roku butsu no mine 頂上六仏の峯 Six mountain peaks as Six Buddhas



. Koppabutsu コッパ仏 .


Karura  迦楼羅 Garuda

. Komainu, Koma-Inu 狛犬 Korean Dogs .


Kongara Dooji 矜迦羅童子

Koojin 荒神

Kubira Taishoo 倶毘羅 (Konpira)


空海弘法大師
. Kukai Kobo Daishi .



Nikkoo Bosatsu 日光菩薩
. Gakko Bosatsu, Nikko Bosatsu 日光月光菩薩 .

Nioo 仁王 devas


. Otsu-E 大津絵 Paintings from Otsu as motives .
- an amazing collection



Senmen Bosatsu  千面菩薩  Bosatsu with 1000 faces

Shii Bosatsu 思惟菩薩

. Shōmen Kongō 青面金剛 Shomen Kongo .

. Shootoku Taishi 聖徳太子 Prince Shotoku Taishi .

. Sukuna, Ryoomen Sukuna 両面宿儺 Sukuna with two faces .
- - - - - and - Sukunahikona 少彦名命


. Ugajin 宇賀神 .



. Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 Buddha of Medicine .

. Yamabiko ヤマビコ, 山彦 from Hida Takayama, Gifu .


. Zennyo Ryuuoo 善女龍王社 Dragon Lady Zennyo .

. Zenzai Dooji 善財童子 .


- #statues #enkustatues -
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. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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2019-05-05

Kanon In Enku Statues

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Temple Kanon-In Enku Exhibition 観音院
Saitama, Kasuga city, 小渕 Kobuchi

​円空仏祭2019 開催のお知らせ
2019年5月3日(金)4日(土)5日(日)6日(月)



本山修験宗 小淵山 正賢寺 観音院 埼玉県春日部市小渕1634番地
Kobuchi-zan Kannonin
source : kannonin.com/aboutenkubutsu




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- quote -


県指定文化財円空仏7躯特別拝観
市指定文化財仁王門特別拝観
円空カフェ Enku Cafe
大護摩供




蔵王権現 Zao Gongen

本題の円空物は、全部で7体 :
・聖観音菩薩立像(しょうかんのんぼさつりゅうぞう)
・不動明王立像(ふどうみょうおうりゅうぞう)
・毘沙門天立像(びしゃもんてんりゅうぞう)
・役行者倚像(えんのぎょうじゃいぞう)
・蔵王権現立像(ざおうごんげんりゅうぞう)
・夜叉明神像(やしゃみょうじんぞう)
・護法大善神像(ごほうだいぜんしんぞう)TEXT big font

- reference source : blog.livedoor.jp/sweet_honey_farm... -


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. Yamada Naokimi 山田尚公 Enku-style Kannon .


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. Enku on Facebook .


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. Statues carved by Enku - LIST .


. Enku - Exhibitions - INFO .

. Enku - Museums - INFO .

. Enku - Temples and Shrines - INFO .

. Enku and the Mountains of Japan - INFO .

- #kannonin #obuchienku -
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. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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2015-09-22

Enku An - Introduction

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Enkuu-An 円空庵 Hotel Enku-An - Introduction

There are various hotels with this name.

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Onsen Hot Spring Hotel 国民宿舎 - 天然温泉



1115 Okuhida Onsengō Hitoegane, Takayama-shi, Gifu-ken / 岐阜県高山市奥飛騨温泉郷一重ヶ根1115

source : travel.rakuten.co.jp/HOTEL


This is also a temple 禅通寺 Zentsu-Ji where Enku stayed, with a statue of
Kankiten 歓喜天



奥飛騨一重ヶ根禅通寺・円空庵
乗鞍高原へ行く前に奥飛騨温泉へ泊まることに決めて宿を探した。新平湯温泉に『円空庵』(禅通寺)という国民宿舎があることが、分かったのでさっそく予約した。ひょっとしたら円空さんと出会えるかも知れないと期待してのことだった。
円空さんは元禄3年の春から一年あまり奥飛騨の温泉に湯浴みしたそうで、そのとき逗留し宿にしたのが禅通寺で、『我が宿の一重の梅の開くらむ 九重八重の花のとなりに』という和歌を残しておられるのだそうだ。

この寺の山門(鐘楼)が立派であった。その前に左のような円空仏の模刻があった。住職がおっしゃるには、もともと飲食店に置いてあったのだそうだがその店に幸運を呼ばなかったようで、住職が引き取りを依頼されたてここにあるとか。右の歓喜天はインドのものとか。この寺は曹洞宗らしいが歓喜天とのつながりもあるようだ。

結論を言うと、円空仏と出会えなかった。何でも円空仏は十七体この寺に保存されているそうだ。大いに期待していたが、住職は「一般公開していない」とおっしゃった。「絵葉書や写真集もないのか」と食い下がったが、「ない」と言うことであった。以前に新聞社の求めに応じて『円空展』に出品したこともあったけれど、悔やんでおられるようであった。信仰の対象である仏を美術品として鑑賞することに抵抗を感じておられているようであった。最近の円空仏の盗難やインターネットオークションでの円空仏のネット販売(そんなことがあるのかとびっくりした)にも危機感を持っておられた。
- source : shigeru.kommy.com-


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. Enku on Facebook .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Statues carved by Enku - LIST .


. Enku - Exhibitions - INFO .

. Enku - Museums - INFO .

. Enku - Temples and Shrines - INFO .

. Enku and the Mountains of Japan - INFO .

- #enkuan #kankiten -
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. Buddha Statues and Japanese Deities .


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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2015-09-21

Yanagi Soetsu Muneyoshi

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
. Articles about Enku 円空 and Mokujiki 木喰 .
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Yanagi Sōetsu, Sooetsu 柳宗悦 Yanagi Soetsu Muneyoshi
(1889 - 1961)

- quote -
And Mokujiki’s smile revealed true beauty to Yanagi Sōetsu
François Macé

Keywords :utensils, material culture, folk art, popular culture, Mingei, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889-1961), anthropology, ethnology, Mokujiki, buddhism, buddhist sculpture, folklore, Enkū, itinerant monk
キーワード :minshū geijutsu 民衆芸術, bukkyō 仏教, taishū bunka 大衆文化, Enkū 円空 (1632-1695), mingei undō 民芸運動, yugyōsō 遊行層, bukkyō chōkoku 仏教彫刻, Mokujiki 木喰 (1718-1810), Yanagi Sōetsu 柳宗悦 (1889-1961), jinruigaku 人類学, minzokugaku 民族学, shūkyōgaku 宗教学, Edo jidai 江戸時代 (1603-1868), Taishō jidai 大正時代 (1912-1926), Shōwa jidai 昭和時代 (1926-1989)

Enkū
A forgotten figure
The discovery
The search
Genuine beauty
A folk art
Religion
A joint discovery
Top of page
Editor’s note

Original release:
François Macé, « Et le sourire de Mokujiki révéla à Yanagi Sōetsu la beauté véritable », Cipango [En ligne], 16 | 2009, mis en ligne le 15 novembre 2011, DOI: 10.4000/cipango.370.

- - - - - Full text

1For many Japanese art enthusiasts the names Mokujiki 木喰 (1718-1810) and Enkū 円空 (1632-1695) are inextricably linked, despite the one-hundred-year gap that separates them. In my mind they remain linked to the 1972 exhibition Enkū Mokujiki Ten in Tokyo, which presented their works side by side. At that time they represented the leading figures of a Buddhist art in robust health. They illustrated the vitality of Japanese artists during the Edo period, far from the purported decline of Buddhist art in modern times.

2And yet these two sculptor-monks, who appear as inseparable as Kanzan 寒山 and Jittoku 拾得, have only been associated quite recently, during the second boom in Mokujiki’s popularity. The first joint exhibition was held in Hokkaidō in 1953,1 with both monks having been long ignored previously by specialists in art history. Considered overly crude, their sculptures did not fall within the framework of an art synonymous with high culture. Simply put, they did not conform to the criteria of beauty. One appeared too primitive and violent, the other too naïve and awkward.

3However, in order to draw a parallel between them, they first had to be discovered. This was the job of Yanagi Sōetsu, who stepped in to rescue Mokujiki from oblivion, for Enkū had never left people’s memories.

Enkū

4In fact, Enkū had been a well-known figure for some time, as evidenced by his inclusion in reference works from the 1920s and 1930s. The Dictionary of Buddhism – the first edition of which was published in 1933 –2 carries an entry on Enkū with accompanying picture, in which we learn that his biography appeared in book eleven of the Sequel to the Biographies of Eminent Monks.3 He is described as a monk, painter and sculptor who used only a billhook and travelled the length of Japan, from Kyūshū to the lands of the Ezo (Ainu), for the purpose of preaching. He generally lived in caves. The dictionary makes no reference to the artistic quality of his works but notes their effectiveness in pacifying dangerous spirits. It stresses the monk’s holiness, describing him as a “present-day Shakya” (Ima Shaka 今釈迦).

5However, if Enkū appears in the Sequel to the Biographies of Eminent Monks, it is because he had never been forgotten. Barely twenty years after his death, the illustrious Illustrated Compendium of the Three Powers in Japan and China4 noted that Enkū had offered a thousand carvings of Jizō to Mount Osore (Osorezan 恐山).5 The monk enjoyed another mention just a short time later, in the book Eccentrics of Our Times, published in 1790.6 An illustration even shows him carving a Buddha onto a living tree. This book was followed at regular intervals by other publications relating Enkū’s life.

6Heibonsha’s Great Encyclopaedia, published between 1931 and 1933, devoted an equally long entry to Enkū as the Dictionary of Buddhism and featured the same picture.7 It indicated that Enkū belonged to the Rinzai School (when in fact he lived as a solitary monk attached to no institution, similar to the yamabushi, or mountain ascetics). These more or less reliable indications all seem to originate from the same source, most likely the Sequel to the Biographies of Eminent Monks. Strangely, neither of the two dictionaries carries a date. The Great Encyclopaedia even cites Enkū’s trip to the Ezo as having taken place during the late Ashikaga period (sixteenth century). Commentators primarily stress the piety that drove him to carve numerous statues, without ever mentioning their artistic value.

7In fact, the value of his work only came to be recognised much later, after Mokujiki’s. It began with the sculptor Hashimoto Heihachi 橋本平八 (1897-1935), who came across a sculpture by Enkū while staying at Senkōji temple (千光寺) after a trip to Takayama in 1931. He immediately resolved to study these sculptures and their creator, a task that would occupy him for ten years. At the time of his discovery, Hashimoto wrote the following in his diary:8

I cannot speculate as to Yanagi Sōetsu’s state of mind as he studied the venerable Mokujiki, but today, when I think of Enkū as I contemplate his works, I can feel it.

8He also described his reaction, which was similar to Yanagi’s upon discovering Mokujiki’s first works:

The holy man [Enkū] created countless Buddhas at Senkōji more than two hundred and thirty years ago. Yet one has difficulty believing it was so long ago. [These Buddhas] give the impression that just a short period of time separates us, a few years at most.

9And yet despite Hashimoto’s enthusiasm, Enkū’s renown would not be assured until the 1960s, following a first exhibition held in Kamakura in 1957. The journal Mingei was the first to lead the way in 1959 by devoting a special issue to the monk, including an article by Yanagi entités “Karmic Ties with Enkū’s Buddhas”.9 This article later appeared in a volume of his selected writings entitled The Venerable Mokujiki, indicating that Yanagi developed his interest in Enkū through his experience of Mokujiki.10

A forgotten figure

10The two 1930s’ dictionaries are also consistent in their disregard for Mokujiki. Mochizuki makes no mention of anyone by that name, despite the fact that several have existed in the history of Japanese Buddhism. The Great Encyclopaedia cites just one person, the famous Kōyasan monk Mokujiki Ōgo 木食應其 (1536-1608), a contemporary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who rubbed shoulders with the mighty of his time and left behind numerous poems (renga) but not a single sculpture.

11The sculptor Mokujiki – Mokujiki Gogyō 木喰五行 – had been well and truly forgotten. While conducting research in the monk’s native province, Yanagi found no trace of him in regional histories from the period. He cites the example of the highly detailed History of Kai Province,11 which makes no reference whatsoever to Mokujiki. In other words, shortly after his death, Mokujiki had already been forgotten. We can presume that even during his lifetime his renown must have been limited.

12And yet, his life bears many similarities to that of Enkū, whose memory had remained alive. Both were “itinerant monks” (yugyōsō 遊行僧) who lived a large part of their lives independently from religious establishments. Both traversed Japan from Kyūshū to Ezo. And finally, both produced an astonishing quantity of sculptures. This activity, long considered a pious deed in Buddhism, was an integral part of their practice alongside other ascetic vows, such as living in caves instead of buildings for Enkū, or surviving solely on fruit and nuts for Mokujiki, as his name indicates.12 Although itinerant monks were numerous, holy men capable of melting into the crowd while, paradoxically, leaving behind a name must have been few and far between. Ryōkan 良寛 (1758-1831) enjoyed a certain notoriety during his lifetime. Tōsui Unkei 桃水雲渓, who lived during the seventeenth century, ended his life as a vinegar merchant but made it onto the pages of Eccentrics of Our Times.13 As for sculptors of Mokujiki’s calibre, they were most likely an even rarer breed. Another Mokujiki, a certain Mokujiki Sankyo 木喰山居 (1657-1724), is said to have carved ten thousand Buddhas.14 And then there was Enkū of course. In fact, Gorai Shigeru suggests that it was the discovery of Enkū’s statues in Hokkaidō that incited Mokujiki to follow in his footsteps.15

The discovery

13The rediscovery of Mokujiki appears to have been fortuitous. Yanagi Sōetsu describes how on 9 January 1923 he travelled to meet a certain Komiyama Seizō 小宮山清三, the village mayor of Ikeda, Yamanashi Prefecture. He was accompanied by Asakawa Takumi 浅川巧 (1891-1931), a specialist in Korean crafts. Both men were hoping to see the Korean porcelain wares that Komiyama collected. Yanagi, then aged 34, was working at the time on his plan to open the Korean Folk Crafts Museum (Chōsen minzoku bijutsukan 朝鮮民族美術館).16 In addition to the ceramic wares they had come to see, Yanagi’s eye was instantly drawn to two sculptures he found in the storeroom of their host. One was a statue of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, known in Japanese as Jizō Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩; the other was of the Tathagata Amitayus, in Japanese Muryōju Nyorai 無量寿如来.


(Jizō Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩)

14Another statue, this time of Namu Daishi 南無大師,17 was found in Komiyama’s reception room. Each of the statues bore the signature of a certain Mokujiki. Yanagi’s enthusiasm for the beauty of these objects was such that Komiyama offered him the Jizō and subsequently helped him in his search for the mysterious sculptor named Mokujiki.

15That same evening Yanagi wrote to one of his sculptor friends saying that his intuition had not deceived him, the Holy Man (Mokujiki) was indeed the greatest sculptor from the end of the bafuku (first half of the nineteenth century). Upon his return home, a sick Yanagi placed the Jizō statue by his bedside to watch over him. “From that moment on, every day, every evening, I lived with that statue”, he wrote.18

16It was not entirely by chance that these statues came to be in Ikeda, for Mokujiki himself was born not far away, in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. Furthermore, during his long travels around Japan he returned to his native village Marubatake 丸畑 on three occasions. His final visit at the age of 83 was his most productive. At the request of local inhabitants he embarked on the construction of a Shikoku Hall, or Shikokudō 四国堂, which enabled the villagers to undertake the famous eighty-eight-temple pilgrimage around Shikoku (Hachijūhakkasho 八十八カ所) without leaving home.19 It was the ninety-one sculptures carved by Mokujiki for the hall that led to his discovery, for the building itself was destroyed during the Taishō era (1912-1926) and the statues it contained dispersed shortly before Yanagi’s visit. It was three of these statues that Yanagi saw at Komiyama’s house. The memory of their origins had not had time to be erased.

17It should be noted that these sculptures belonged to a period in which the monk’s skill was at its peak. If Yanagi had seen statues from Mokujiki’s early period, would he still have been quite so struck by them?

The search

18If Yanagi was able to gradually piece together details of Mokujiki’s life, this was thanks to the monk’s habit of writing his name on the back of his statues, alongside various other indications that enabled Yanagi to retrace his steps. The following inscription in particular was common:20

Travelling the length and breadth of Japan, contemplating the eight sects with one glance, thinking only of the edification [of all], the sculptor of Buddhas leaves them in places with which he has ties throughout the provinces. This is his main vow among the ten great vows21. Each Buddha is part of Japan’s one thousand statues.

日本順国八宗一見之行想,十大願之内本願として仏を仏師国々因縁ある所にこれをほどこす、みな千躰之内なり

19This text would be accompanied by the date of the statue “opening its eyes” and the sculptor’s name.

20The second stage in Yanagi’s quest was marked by his discovery of Mokujiki’s papers in the monk’s native village. His family had conserved the notebooks in which he recorded the names of all the places in which he had stayed22 and those in which he had made an offering of sutras,23 as well as a collection of poems (waka) and, most of all, what appears to be his autobiography, the Mirror of my Heartfelt Prayers from Shikoku Hall (Shikokudō Shingankyō 四国堂心願鏡). Yanagi wrote of his joy at being able to consult these documents. Having been asked to return it the following day, he spent an entire night feverishly copying out the Mirror of my Heartfelt Prayers. However, with the aid of Komiyama he was later able to borrow the documents and study them at leisure.

21This information enabled Yanagi to conduct his investigations with a certain precision24 and he rapidly set out to retrace Mokujiki’s footsteps. In less than a year he succeeded in recovering three hundred statues located around Japan. He also enlisted the help of friends such as Mushanokōji Saneatsu 武者小路実篤 (1885-1976),25 taking advantage of Mushanokōji having moved to Kyūshū to establish a cooperative community by asking him to search for the Mokujiki statues he knew to be located on the island. Yanagi published his initial findings in 1924-1925, in seven issues of the journal Josei 女性 (Woman), before publishing them in a single volume entitled Mokujiki shōnin no kenkyū 木喰上人之研究 (Research on the Venerable Mokujiki).26 He continued his research until 1926 before devoting himself entirely to the Folk Crafts Movement. With the trend thus set, other researchers were able to pursue his work with the support of the Mokujiki Research Association (Mokujiki Kenkyūkai) he had set up. Yanagi later organised the first Mokujiki exhibition in Kyoto in 1935.

Genuine beauty

22Yanagi was not a historian by trade. It was Mokujiki’s work and personality that interested him. In the book he wrote on the sculptor-monk, Yanagi explained that his chance discovery of Mokujiki was only made possible by three preconditions having been satisfied. The first was his own search for “true beauty” (shin no bi 真の美). Yanagi had never been able to live far from the world of beauty. It was this that had led him to study William Blake as a student, and then Yi Dynasty Korean porcelain wares. It was this true beauty that he detected in Mokujiki’s carvings. Yanagi returned to the subject of beauty towards the end of his book, in a section on the Shikokudō statues. In his eyes, Mokujiki had never sought to create beautiful objects. Nonetheless, it is widely agreed that he created original works, for he succeeded in freeing himself from fixed forms. Yanagi himself acknowledged that:27

From a certain point of view his works could be considered ugly […]. But for he who had become a solitary monk, what reason could he have had to waver before ugliness? Moreover, where is the conflict with beauty? He possessed no-mindness [mushin 無心] in all that he did. Lack of affectation in beauty does not imply lack of beauty. Apparent ugliness is not derived from ugliness. Modern men have endeavoured to capture a new kind of beauty from ugliness. One could call the carvings of this Holy Man modern. However, unlike our current era of conflict, the Holy Man had attained a state of mind where there was no distinction between beauty and ugliness [bishū funi 美醜不二]. In fact, choosing beauty over ugliness is but another passion that clouds the judgement.

He continued by advocating simplicity:

Simplicity is not crudeness and no-mindness [mushin 無心] is not ignorance. Thus, religious art usually expresses a simple beauty. Artificial ideas do not create art. His works are simple and natural […]. He was aware of his lack of technique and was not ashamed.

23This simple beauty was expressed in the smile: the smile of Mokujiki, the smile of the Buddhas:

What is striking, no matter who we are, is the facial expression. What other sculptor was able to capture and convey the smile of the Buddhas so intensely? In the history of sculpture, smiling Buddhas begin with him […]. This smile makes the Buddhas appear familiar to us.

A folk art

24The second precondition to discovering Mokujiki related to the coarseness of his sculptures. Yanagi stressed their provincial, rustic and peasant qualities, comparing them to the anonymous earthenware (getemono 下手物) held in contempt by avid collectors of famous signed works. Yanagi, on the other hand, had immediately recognised their astonishing, hidden beauty. Throughout his writings on Mokujiki, Yanagi continually emphasised the unaffected nature of the monk’s work. According to him, Mokujiki had never had a master, never belonged to any school, nor sought fame and glory. Although he signed his statues, he left them in remote, rural locations rather than famous, popular places.28

The holy man chose the people as his friend […]. He left his statues in roadside chapels […]. The Buddhas have left the temples to walk among the towns and villages.29

25It was this combination of simple means and unintentional depth that attracted Yanagi and would become the central theme of the Folk Crafts Movement. His interest in folk paintings from Ōtsu followed the same logic.30

26However, the coarseness of his sculptures does not signify that Mokujiki was ignorant, far from it. As a monk trained in the Shingon School of esoteric Buddhism he knew the seed characters31 for all the great Buddhist figures he carved – over fifty names by Yanagi’s estimate–32 and as we saw earlier, he also left a collection of poems.

27Mokujiki’s personality posed a further problem. Though he was barely known to his contemporaries, this travelling monk was by no means an anonymous craftsman. Not only did he sign his works, he also gave himself extraordinary titles such as Bodhisattva Gogyō (Gogyō Bosatsu) or Immortal Myōman (Myōman Sennin). By fulfilling his vow to travel around Japan offering thousands of Buddha statues, he had attained a state that was beyond mere humanity. In addition to carving Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, he also created images of himself on several occasions.

28Fifteen self-portraits exist, four in the Kyoto-Osaka region alone. The following inscription appears on the back of the statue from the hermitage Inryōan 蔭凉庵:33

One of Japan’s thousand [Buddha] statues
May the world be at peace
Self-portrait of the Immortal Myōman
for the enlightenment of his mother and father.
May the days and months be pure and full of light
The 8th day of the 1st month of the 4th year of Bunka

[Master of] supramundane knowledge, light [of the Buddhas]
The Immortal Myōman - Aged 90.

29Enkū is also known to have produced several “self-portraits”. It is impossible to know if these, or those of Mokujiki, revealed the distinctive features of their creators. I believe it is likely. Whatever the case may be, when we consider that the great Zen masters presented their disciples with a self-portrait as a symbol of Dharma transmission, with itinerant monks we are on another level entirely, that of the ascetic providing access to another state. For Yanagi:

The Buddha statue represents the holy man himself. All the Buddhas are transformation bodies of the Holy Man.34

30We are well and truly in the presence of something unique. It was this uniqueness that Yanagi was at pains to highlight in Mokujiki’s style and which belonged to no particular school.

Religion

31The final element that made Yanagi’s discovery possible was religion. Yanagi had no doubt that Mokujiki’s faith (he employed a term more usually translated as “belief”, shinkō 信仰) was clearly visible in his sculptures. He saw them as an oasis, a shining light at a time when religion was on the decline. Yanagi himself showed a strong inclination towards religion. He remained in contact with Suzuki Daisetsu 鈴木大拙 (1870-1966), his former English teacher at Gakushūin, throughout his entire lifetime. Suzuki improved his understanding of Japanese Buddhism, in particular its non-intellectual aspects. It was his work on Pure Land devotees, or myōkōnin 妙好人 (“wonderfully good people”), that gave Yanagi the idea of conducting field research in Tottori Prefecture.35 We saw earlier that Yanagi took an interest in William Blake during his youth. In fact, he continued to write about religion, culminating in five volumes of selected writings on the subject.36

32Mokujiki’s religion was a joyous one. The ascetic practices he undertook did not give him a pessimistic view of the body. Under his chisel, all his figures appear to be overcome with joy. Even Fudō Myōō 不動明王 (Acalanātha), the Immovable Wisdom King, appears benevolent rather than fearful.

33The painter and printmaker Munakata Shikō 棟方志功 (1903-1975) first met Yanagi in 1936 during an exhibition. He certainly must have found an echo of his own aesthetic choices in the optimism of Mokujiki’s sculptures. Both sets of works possess the same round volumes.

A joint discovery

34As far as Yanagi was concerned, his discovery of the Jizō statue in Ikeda was not of the same order as a collector unearthing a rare find or a historian discovering an unknown document. The statue triggered a profound aesthetic emotion within him that had strong religious connotations. His entire being entered into a kind of communion with Mokujiki, this itinerant monk with an extraordinary vitality who lived his entire life among the common folk. In fact, on several occasions when describing his discovery, Yanagi employed a passive-tense construction, suggesting that it was not he who had recognised the statue’s beauty but rather the statue’s beauty that had revealed itself.

35Regardless of his own personal feelings, Yanagi could not have shared his enthusiasm without having access to a fertile breeding ground. He was a member of the Shirakaba group, a society of Tolstoy admirers who transposed the Master’s ideas on the power of folk wisdom to Japan.37 Over in another field, this was also the period in which Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 (1875-1962) was at his most active.38 The “common people” (jōmin 常民) that he and some of his contemporaries strove to save from oblivion was the very same one Mokujiki had lived among.

36Nevertheless, Yanagi’s conception cannot merely be described as nostalgia for an idealised rural lifestyle or a somewhat chauvinistic taste for the country. First of all, he emphasised the importance of the spiritual quest. It was Mokujiki’s deep faith that shone through in the smile of his statues. I would not have been surprised to learn that Yanagi liked Hakuin Ekaku 白隠慧鶴 (1686-1768) and his laughing Buddhas,39 but I found no evidence of any interest in the paintings of Zen monks, which were probably not rustic enough for his liking. Furthermore, Yanagi never confined himself to Japan. He was also drawn to Blake and Korean folk crafts, something that was highly unusual in a colonial era characterised by oppression and contempt. He fought to save Gwanghwa gate 光化門 at Seoul’s royal palace from destruction and also opened the Korean Folk Crafts Museum in Seoul.40 He contributed to the wave of interest shown in Okinawa by certain intellectuals. In this respect, his research on the crafts of this southern island chain converged with that of the master dyer Serizawa Keisuke.

37More than anything, Yanagi insisted that Mokujiki had been out of step with his era; that the time had come for him to be discovered; that he was a contemporary artist. Yanagi was not a man with his eyes riveted on the past. His network of friends included numerous artists. We have already met Kawai Kanjirō, Munakata Shikō and Serizawa Keisuke. We could add to this list Umehara Ryūzaburō 梅原龍三郎 (1888-1986), a painter in the Western style with close links to the Shirakaba group. None of these artists could be classed as “regionalist”. Umehara applied the teachings of Renoir, Munakata was the first non-European to be awarded the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale in 1956, while Serizawa’s reputation spread far beyond Japan’s borders.

38In his article, Michael Lucken highlights the dissonance between the first period in Yanagi’s intellectual life, when he and his friends were fascinated by the individualism of Western artists like Van Gogh, Renoir and Rodin, and the mingei period centred on anonymous creations by ordinary people. Yanagi’s discovery of Mokujiki took place at the cusp of these two periods. He was already interested in Korean folk porcelain but had not yet launched the Folk Crafts Movement. He remained extremely drawn to originality:41

For this free Holy Man there was neither attachment to tradition nor opposition to tradition […]. Originality was not something he would have invented. It sprang forth from him spontaneously [mushin ni 無心に] […]. His works bear no trace of imitation. He did not seek to preserve a method and had no usual style. There is no doubt in my mind that he should be commemorated as the most original sculptor of Buddhas Japan has ever known.

39In my opinion, among the elements that enabled Yanagi to see the beauty of Mokujiki’s sculptures, we should not forget his having trained his eye through his study of Western artists, who themselves presented a break from classicism and academicism. We have this account from Munakata Shikō, a great admirer of Van Gogh since his youth, upon discovering Enkū’s statues in Ōmiya in 1960. After holding them in his arms and kissing them, he exclame: “Enkū must be the Munakata Shikō of the Genroku era. And Munakata Shikō must be the Enkū of the Shōwa era”.42. The same Munakata had said that he would be another Van Gogh. It was this abolition of time that Yanagi experienced when he contemplated Mokujiki’s Jizō.

40All the conditions were in place for Mokujiki to step out of the shadows. The least of Yanagi’s merits, in his own modest estimation, was to have played an instrumental role in revealing the monk. His work is not yet complete, for Mokujiki, more than Enkū, seems to have difficulty escaping Japan’s borders.43 He must wait for a new Yanagi.44

.......................................................................

Notes

1 Mokujiki Enkū ryōshōnin isakuten 木喰・円空両上人遺作展, Hokkaidō, Esamachi Kōminkan,江差町公民館. On Enkū’s reception, see Tanahashi Kazuaki 棚橋一晃, Enkū no geijutsu 円空の芸術, Tōkai Daigaku Shuppankai 東海大学出版会, 1979. For French publications see Anne Bouchy, « Une voie de “l’art premier” dans le Japon du xviie siècle. La statuaire d’Enkū, le pérégrin de l’Essentiel » (A “Primitive Art” in 17th-century Japan. The Statues of Enkū, Pilgrim of the Essential), L’Homme, no 165, 2003, p. 143-172.

2 Mochizuki Shinkyō 望月信亨, Bukkyō daijiten 仏教大辞典, 7 volumes. The revised and expanded edition dates from 1958.

3 Zoku Nihon kōsōden 続日本高僧伝, a book begun in 1867 and completed in 1884.

4 Wakan sansai zue 和漢三才図会 by Terajima Ryōan, completed in 1715 and modelled on the Chinese Sancai tuhui 三才図会.

5 Gorai Shigeru 五来重, Enkū butsu 円空佛, Kyoto, Tankōsha 淡交社, 1977, p. 118.

6 Kinsei kijinden 近世畸人伝, by Ban Kōkei 伴蒿蹊 (1733-1806), published in Kyoto in 1790, and containing around 100 biographies, including those of Nakae Tōjū, Kaibara Ekiken, and the monks Tōsui and Keichū. Republished by Iwanami in 1972 in their paperback collection. François Lachaud translates the title as Vies d’excentriques de notre temps (The Lives of Eccentrics of Our Time) in Le vieil homme qui vendait du thé. Excentricité et retrait du monde dans le Japon du xviiie siècle (The Old Man Who Sold Tea: Eccentricity and Retirement from the World in 18th-century Japan), Paris, Éditons du Cerf, 2010, p. 50.

7 Dai hyakka jiten 大百科事典, Heibonsha 平凡社, 18 volumes.

8 Page 141 of his diary, quoted in Enkū to Hashimoto Heihachi 円空と橋本平八, edited by Honma Masayoshi 本間正義, Kindai no bijutsu 16 近代の美術 16, Shibundō 至文堂, 1973, p. 18.

9 Enkū butsu to no innen 円空佛との因縁, Mingei, September 1959.

10 Mokujiki shōnin 木喰上人 (The Venerable Mokujiki), Yanagi Sōetsu senshū 柳宗悦選集 (Selected Writings of Yanagi Sōetsu), Tokyo, Shunjūsha 春秋社, vol. 9, 1955, republished in 1972.

11 Kai kokushi 甲斐国志, completed by Matsudaira Sadayoshi 松平定能 in 1814, consists of 124 books. Kai Province roughly corresponds to present-day Yamanashi Prefecture.

12 Our sculptor took the name Mokujiki Gyōdō 木喰行道 (Tree Eater, Path of Asceticism) after receiving the “tree-eating precept” (mokujikikai 木喰戒) in 1762. At the age of 76 he then changed his name to Mokujiki Gogyō Bosatsu 木喰五行菩薩 (the Bodhisattva Tree Eater of the Five Practices), before finally becoming Mokujiki Myōman Sennin 木喰明満仙人 (the Immortal Tree Eater Full of Light) at the age of 89.

13 On the subject of Edo-period eccentrics, see François Lachaud op.cit.

14 Gorai Shigeru, Itan no hōrōsha no kanjin to waka 異端の放浪者の勧進と和歌 (The Poems and Quest of Itinerant Heretics), in Tanahashi Kazuaki, Mokujiki butsu, Kajima Kenkyūjo Shuppankai, 1973, p. 122.

15 Ibid., p. 123.

16 For more on this subject see Christophe Marquet’s article in this issue of Cipango.

17 Abbreviation of Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō 南無大師遍照金剛, an alternative name for Kōbō Daishi 弘法大師 (Kūkai 空海) used to invoke him in his mausoleum on Mount Kōya.

18 The details of this discovery are related in his book Mokujiki shōnin, op. cit., pp. 4-14. They had been explained previously using similar wording in 1925, in his Brief Biography of the Venerable Mokujiki Gogyō (Mokujiki Gogyō shōnin ryakuden 木喰五行上人畧伝, which itself was reprinted as Mokujiki shōnin hakken no engi 木喰上人発見の縁起 (Origins of the Discovery of the Venerable Mokujiki) in Mokujiki butsu, edited by Tanahashi Kazuaki, op. cit., pp. 180-199.

19 The term ‘hall’ requires clarification. It would in fact have been a very simple building, just large enough to house the statues. The number 88 refers to the ‘main objects of worship’ (honzon) at each of the temples on the Shikoku pilgrimage. Mokujiki added a statue of Kōbō Daishi, a self-portrait and an image of Daikokuten (Mahākāla).

20 Tanahashi, Mokujiki butsu, op. cit. p 98.

21 These are the Ten Great Vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Fugen Bosatsu 普賢菩薩), as described in the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegonkyō 華厳経), and which express the Bodhisattva’s compassion for all living creatures.

22 Yadochō 宿帳: travel diaries in which Mokujiki kept a daily record of the village or hamlet in which he was staying, the type of accommodation (temple, chapel) or the name of the person who took him in. Almost all of the place names were written in katakana.

23 Hōkyōchō 奉經帳: notebooks listing the objects crafted by Mokujiki and left as offerings.

24 It was through these papers that Yanagi knew that Mokujiki had spent a long time on Sado and thus visited the island himself.

25 Mushanokōji was Yanagi’s senior at Gakushūin – a higher educational establishment attended by the children of the Imperial Family, the aristocracy and high society – and a member of the Tolstoy-inspired Shirakaba group, just like another of Yanagi’s friends, Shiga Naoya 志賀直哉 (1883-1971).

26 He released the final version in 1955, with illustrations by Serizawa Keisuke, in volume 9 of his Selected Writings, published by Shunjūsha. Serizawa Keisuke 芹沢銈介 (1895-1984), a master dyer and printmaker, contacted Yanagi in 1928 after reading his essay Kōgei no michi 工藝の道 (The Way of Crafts).

27 Hachijūhachi-tai butsu no bi 八十八躰佛の美 (The Beauty of the 88 Buddhas), in Mokujiki shōnin , op. cit., pp. 237-245 and in particular p. 243 et seq.

28 Yanagi stressed how difficult it was to trace the place names recorded in Mokujiki’s travel diary. Many did not appear on any map.

29 Ibid., p. 244.

30 This was also the opinion of Kawai Kanjirō 河井寛次郎 (1890-1966), a sculptor and above all potter who made a name for himself in 1921 thanks to an exhibition at the department store Takashimaya. Kawai felt unsatisfied with his work. Drawn to the Yi Dynasty porcelain studied by Yanagi, he shared his enthusiasm for these anonymous craft wares and accompanied Yanagi on many of his trips to conduct research on Mokujiki’s sculptures. For further information on Ōtsu-e, see the article by Christophe Marquet in this volume of Cipango.

31 Shuji 種子: a letter from the Sanskrit alphabet is used to symbolise a Buddha or Bodhisattva, providing a means of representing or invoking them. For example, the letter kiriku (hrih) denotes Amida.

32 Mokujiki shōnin, op. cit., pp. 114-115.

33 Tanahashi, Mokujiki butsu, op. cit., p. 133.

34 “Butsu wa shōnin mizukara de aru” 佛は上人自らである; Hachijūhachi-tai butsu no bi, in Mokujiki shōnin, op. cit., pp. 244-245

35 He published his results in Genza d’Inaba, a Wonderfully Good Man (Myōkōnin Inaba no Genza 妙好人因幡源左). Genza d’Inaba (1842-1930) was a simple peasant known for his deep faith in Amida. The monograph by Yanagi and Kinugasa Isshō 衣笠一省 was published in 1960 by Hyakkaen 百華苑.

36 Yanagi Muneyoshi shūkyō senshū 柳宗悦・宗教選集 (Tokyo, Shunjūsha, 1960-1961): 1. Shūkyō to sono shinri 宗教とその真理 (Religion and its Truth), 2. Shūkyō no rikai 宗教の理解 (Understanding Religion), 3. Kami ni tsuite 神について (On the Divine), 4. Namu Amidabutsu 南無阿弥陀佛 (Invocation of Amida Buddha), Ippen shōnin 一遍上人 (Ippen the Holy Man), 5. Shūkyō zuisō 宗教随想 (Thoughts on Religion).

37 See the article by Michael Lucken in this volume of Cipango.

38 See Damien Kunik’s article and translation of the discussion between the two men.

39 See, for example, Hakuin zen to shoga. Hakuin zenji seitan 320 nen 白隠禅と書画 — 白隠禅師生誕320年 (Paintings and Calligraphy by Hakuin. 320th Anniversary of the Zen Master’s Birth), Kyōto Bunka Hakubutsukan 京都文化博物館, 2004.

40 See the article by Pierre Souyri in the 2010 volume of Cipango on Korea and the colonial period: « La critique du colonialisme dans le Japon d’avant-guerre » (Criticism of Colonialism in Pre-war Japan).

41 Hachijūhachi-tai butsu no bi, in Mokujiki shōnin, op. cit., p. 237.

42 Akiyama Kikuo 秋山喜久夫, Koi Enkū 恋円空, Urawa, Saitama Ken Kyōdo Shiryō Kankōkai 埼玉県郷土史料刊行会, 1973, p. 23.

43 To my knowledge there has not yet been a European exhibition on Mokujiki, whereas Enkū’s work was exhibited in Antwerp in 1999. See Jan Van Alphen, Robert Duquenne et al., Enkū, 1632-1695: Timeless Images from 17th-Century Japan, Anvers, Etnografisch Museum.

44 I would like to thank Christophe Marquet and Jean-Michel Butel for their thorough editing and corrections.

List of illustrations

- side notes 01 - 44 have not been copied -
source : cjs.revues.org


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. Yanagi Soetsu Muneyoshi  柳宗悦 (1889-1961) .
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. Mokujiki 木喰 (1718 - 1810) .


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