Enku's Buddhas: Sculptures from Senkoji Temple and the Hida Region

"This is a little bit off The Silk Road but some of the Buddha's are so beautiful !!"

Enku's Buddhas: Sculptures from Senkoji Temple and the Hida Region 
Honkan Room T5   January 12, 2013 (Sat) - April 7, 2013 (Sun)

  

Seated Ryomen Sukuna, By Enku, Edo period, 17th century, Senkouji, Gifu

Enku (1632-95) was a Buddhist monk and sculptor who is said to have carved 120,000 Buddhist statues in his lifetime while making pilgrimages to sacred mountains all over Japan. Using wood from forests in the places he visited, Enku readily created Buddhist statues. Many of his statues are unpainted and clearly show knots in the wood as well as places where the wood was chopped or chiseled. Conveying the wood’s vitality, Enku’s unostentatious statues of Buddha were favored by villagers from the Edo period (1603-1868) onward, and even today they attract many admirers. This exhibition introduces 100 Enku’s statues from Takayama City in Gifu prefecture, with a focus on 61Enku's statues from Senkouji temple, including the Seated Ryomen Sukuna, a prized statue of a two-faced deity. There are also statues with the inscribed names of mountains Enku climbed, including Mount Hotaka and Mount Norikura. Standing like trees in the exhibition room, Enku’s statues evoke the atmosphere of Hida’s forests.

General Information
Period	Saturday, January 12 - Sunday, April 7, 2013
Venue	Honkan Room T5, Tokyo National Museum (Ueno Park)
Hours	9:30 - 17:00 (Last entry 30 minutes before closing) Fridays on March and April until 20:00 Saturday, April 6, Sunday April 7 until 18:00
Closed	Mondays (Except for Monday, January 14 and Monday, February 11)
Admission	Adults: 900 (800) yen University students: 700 (600) yen High school students: 400 (300) yen Junior high school students and under: Free * Prices shown in ( ) indicate advance and group (more than 20 persons) discount tickets. * Persons with disabilities are admitted free with one accompanying person each. * Advance tickets will be sale at the Museum ticket office (during museum hours, 30 minutes before closing hour), e-Ticket Pia (P-code:765-365), Lawson Ticket (L-code:31632), E-Plus and other major ticketing agencies from Monday , Octorber 1, 2012 to Friday, January 11, 2013. * Special exhibition "Wang Xizhi: Master Calligrapher" (Tuesday, January 22 - Sunday, March 3, 2013, Heiseikan) requires a separate admission fee.
Access	10 minutes' walk from JR Ueno Station (Park exit) and Uguisudani Station 15 minutes' walk from Keisei Ueno Station, Tokyo Metro Ueno Station and Tokyo Metro Nezu Station
Organizer	Tokyo National Museum, Senkouji Temple, The Yomiuri Shimbun, NHK, NHK Promotions Inc.,
With the special assistance of	Takayama City, Takayama City Board of Education
With the Support of	Gifu Prefectural Government
General Inquiries	03-5405-8686 (Hello Dial)
Exhibition Website	http://enku2013.jp/ (In Japanese)

Related Events

   Enku and the Spiritual Climate of Japan

Heiseikan Auditorium  January 26, 2013 (Sat)   13:30 - 15:00   

   Prayers of Enku and the People of Hida

Heiseikan Auditorium  March 9, 2013 (Sat)   13:30 - 15:00   

Highlight of the Exhibition

Seated Ryomen Sukuna Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 86.9cm Senkoji, Gifu

Standing Fudo Myo'o (Acala) with two child attendants Edo period, 17th century Overall heights: 95.8cm (Fudo); 62.3cm (Kongara); 58.8cm (Seitaka)  Senkoji, Gifu

Standing Thirty-three Kannon (Avalokitesvara) Edo period, 17th century Overall heights: 61.0cm – 82.0cm Senkoji, Gifu

Seated arhat Binzuru (Pindola) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 47.4cm Senkoji, Gifu	Seated Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 50.2cm Higashiyama Shinmei Jinja, Gifu

Shinto deity Ugajin Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 19.8cm Senkoji, Gifu	Standing Karura (Garuda, also Karasu Tengu) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 30.0cm Senkoji, Gifu	One of the Eight Great Dragon Kings Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 16.7cm Senkoji, Gifu

Standing Fudo Myo'o (Acala) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 172.8cm Sogenji, Gifu	Seated Nyoirin Kannon Bosatsu (Cintamanicakra) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 74.8cm Higashiyama Hakusan Jinja, Gifu	Seated Aizen Myo'o (Ragaraja) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 67.4cm Reisenji, Gifu

Standing Thousand-armed Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara) Edo period, 17th century　Overall height: 114.3cm Seihoji, Gifu

Left：Standing Dragon Head Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 158.3cm Seihoji, GIfu Right：Standing Sho-Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 156.8cm Seihoji, GIfu

Standing Kongo Rikishi (Ungyo of Nio pair) Edo period, 17th century Overall height: 226.0cm Senkoji, Gifu	Standing Kangiten (Ganesha) with shrine Edo period, 17th century Overall heights: Kangiten 13.5cm Senkoji, Gifu