Portrait of the Zen Master Hotto Kokushi

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Portrait of the Zen Master Hotto Kokushi

c. 1286

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)

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Medium

wood with hemp cloth, black lacquer, and iron clamps

Measurements

Overall: 91.4 cm (36 in.)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1970.67.a

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Location

235B Japanese

Did You Know?

Two famous sculptural portraits of this monk, one at the temple Ankokuji in Hiroshima, and another at the temple Kōkokuji in Wakayama, are dated to 1275 and 1286, respectively.

Description

Hottō Enmyō Kokushi, is a posthumous title bestowed upon the Zen Buddhist monk Shinchi Kakushin (1203–1298) by the emperor Go-Daigo. The title means “perfectly awakened national teacher of the Dharma lamp.” Considered a fine example of “Kamakura realism,” while downplaying detail in the body, the sculpture emphasizes fidelity in representing the visage of Kakushin.