was a possibly fictitious

Japanese art Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, ''ukiyo-e'' paintings and woodblock prints, ceramics, origami, and more recently manga and anime. It ...

ist. Some people and sources state his real name was Itami Toshikatsu. A

Renaissance man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

, he worked as a sculptor, carpenter, painter, architect, comedian, actor, ''

kōdan is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and e ...

shi'' (rhythmical storyteller) and professor of art. Although various studies suggest he was active in the early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

(around 1596–1644), there are controversies about the historical existence of the person. Jingorō is believed to have created many famous deity sculptures located throughout Japan, and many legends have been told about him. His famous ''

nemuri-neko Nemuri-neko ( or , "sleeping cat", from ''nemuri'', "sleeping/peaceful" and ''neko'', "cat") is a famous wood carving by Hidari Jingorō (左甚五郎の作) located in the East corridor at Tōshō-gū Shrine (日光東照宮) in Nikkō, Japa ...

'' ("sleeping cat") carving is located above the Kuguri-mon Gate amidst the sacred mountain shrines and temples of

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

, Japan. Amongst these shrines and temples is

Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 42 structures of the shrine included in the n ...

, a shrine that honors the Shōgun

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

. The two dragon carvings at the ''

karamon The is a type of gate seen in Japanese architecture. It is characterized by the usage of '' karahafu'', an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. ''Karamon'' are often used at the entrances of Japanese castles, Buddhist temples and Shinto s ...

'' in

Ueno Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. First established in 1627 by Tōdō Takatora and renovated in 1651 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shrine has remained mostly intact since that time, making it a great example ...

are also attributed to him.English information panel at Ueno Tōshō-gū. Other sculptors were reportedly jealous of how skilled a carpenter Hidari was, to the point of chopping off his right arm. Luckily he was left-handed and was able to keep working, the reason why he acquired his last name Hidari''Minna no Nihongo Shokyuu'', Lesson 37. (meaning "left"). According to another theory, he was an apprentice to a blacksmith and made

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

swords. After working there a while, Jingorō felt he deserved to know what temperature the oil was kept at. Against his boss's permission he attempted to test the temperature of the oil by touching it and his boss cut off his right hand. When he realized he could no longer be a blacksmith he became an apprentice for the Chief Architect Hokyo Yoheiji Yusa of the

Imperial Court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gov ...

, where he studied how to build temples, shrines, and sculptures. Stories about Jingorō are well known in Japan. According to one, he saw a woman of exceptional beauty and created a sculpture of her. Jingorō began to drink in the company of the sculpture, and it emotionlessly started to imitate his moves. When a mirror was placed before the sculpture, the woman's spirit came to life. File:SleepingCatNikko.jpg, Carving of a sleeping cat at Nikkō Tōshō-gū, said to be the work of Jingorō. File:Toshogu Shrine - Karamon (Chinese-style gate) 02 (15567616950).jpg, Carving of a dragon at Ueno Tōshō-gū, also attributed to Jingorō.

See also

References

Further reading