Kōen (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 康円; c. 12071285) was a Japanese

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

(

busshi A busshi is a Japanese term for Buddhist artists who specialized in painting or sculpting images for Buddhist temples, predominantly in the Nara period. Painters were specifically known as , whereas sculptors who worked with wood were called ''ki- ...

) of the

Kei school The was a Japanese school (style) of Buddhist sculpture which emerged in the early Kamakura period (c. 1200). Based in Nara, it was the dominant school in Buddhist sculpture in Japan into the 14th century, and remained influential until the 19th. ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. A grandson of the sculptor

Unkei was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. He specialized in statues of the Buddha and other important Buddhist figures. Unkei's early works are fairly traditional, similar in style to pieces by his fathe ...

, and apprenticed by his uncle

Tankei Tankei (湛慶 1173 – June 13, 1256) was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. He was the student of and eldest son of the master sculptor Unkei. He was also the teacher, and uncle of the sculptor Kōe ...

, he carried on the Kei school during the late Kamakura period, which is known for adding realism to Japanese Buddhist sculpture, which have reflected and influenced later periods of Buddhist art.

Career

The Keiha is a multigenerational Buddhist art studio based out of Nara, responsible for the reconstruction and commissioning of several temples during the aftermath of the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

under the support of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

. With the lineage of sculptors starting with

Jōchō Jōchō (定朝; died 1057 AD), also known as Jōchō Busshi, was a Busshi, Japanese sculptor of the Heian period. He popularized the ''yosegi'' technique of sculpting a single figure out of many pieces of wood, and he redefined the artistic canon ...

, Kakujo, and Raijo, it was Kōkei who made the Keiha school prominent, followed by that of the sculptor

and

Kaikei was a Japanese Busshi (sculptor of Buddha statue) of Kamakura period, known alongside Unkei. Because many busshi of the school have a name including ''kei'' (慶), his school is called ''Kei-ha'' (Kei school). Kaikei being also called , his s ...

. Unkei had six sons:

, Kōun, Kōben, Kōshō, Unga, Unjo, who subsequently ran the studio. Kōen, the son of Kōun, was born around 1207. In the early stages of his career, he was apprenticed to Tankei, and assisted in the creation of the central

Senju Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as male in Indian ...

statue at

Sanjūsangen-dō is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori for the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. It is officially known as and belongs to the Myōhō-in temple ...

, of which in addition, six of the one thousand Kannon statues are attributed to him. In 1251, he acquired the titles of ''shō busshi'' and ''hōgen.'' When his uncle, Tankei, passed away in 1256, Kōen became head of the Kei school, acquiring the title of ''dai'' ''busshi.'' He passed away approximately around 1284 or 1285, with 30 surviving works attributed to him.''''

Significant Works

With 30 total works attributed to him, Kōen utilized the standard styles created by Unkei, which emphasized on realism and dynamic displays with bold poses, with examples including deep folds in the drapery of the statues.'''' * Jizō Bosatsu, Museum of East Asian Art (Cologne) (1249) * Senju Kannon,

with

(1254)'''' * Senju Kannon,

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

(1256)'''' * Enma, Taizan-o, Shirokuzō, Shimeizō, Byakugō-ji (1259)'''' * Shitenno, Atami Art Museum (1267)'''' *Attendants to Jikoku-ten and Zochoten,

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

(1267) * Fudo-Myo and his Eight Attendants, Kannon-ji,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

(1272) * Monju Bosatsu and Four Attendants, formerly

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. It is part of Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a World Heritage Site. H ...

, Nakamura Collection,Tokyo (1273)'''' *

Aizen Myoo Aizen may refer to: * Aizen Myō-ō (愛染明王), a Japanese Buddhist deity * Sousuke Aizen (藍染惣右介), a main antagonist of the manga series ''Bleach'' See also

* * * Eizen {{Disambig ...

Jingo-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its principal image is a statue of Bhaisajyaguru (''Yakushi Nyorai''), the Buddha of Healing or "Medi ...

(1275)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koen Kei school 1200s births 1280s deaths Japanese Buddhists Japanese sculptors 13th-century Japanese people 13th-century sculptors Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain