Museum collection · Art Institute of Chicago · 159534
Shinto Deity in the Guise of the Monk Hyeja
Japan, 11th/early 12th century
Art Institute of Chicago · Kate S. Buckingham Endowment · Public domain
- Artist
- Japan
- Date
- 11th/early 12th century
- Medium
- Magnolia wood with traces of pigment
- Dimensions
- H.: 97 cm (38 1/4 in.)
- Era
- Museum collection
Why it matters
This figure is said to represent the seventh-century Korean monk Hyeja, the foremost spiritual teacher of the first great patron of Buddhism in Japan, Prince Shotoku (574-622). The sculpture is made in the ichiboku technique, utilizing only a single block of wood. Its dramatic power is enhanced by the natabori technique, in which the sculptor's chisel marks are clearly visible on the surface.