Page 105 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

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43 Minamoto Yoritomo Perhaps for this reason the statue of Yori- 44 Hojo Tokiyori
polychromed wood tomo was placed in a building inside the polychromed wood
h. 70.6(273/4) shrine complex. Shirahatasha was de- h. 68.9 (271/8)
Kamakura period, 2nd half of i3th stroyed by fire in 1280 and reconstructed Kamakura period, late i3th century
century soon after. This statue dates to the period Kenchôji, Kanagawa Prefecture
of Shirahatasha's reconstruction.
Tokyo National Museum The figure holds a shaku (wooden cer- Important Cultural Property
Important Cultural Property
emonial slat) in his right hand, and he This statue of a fully dressed warrior is
Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), a late wears the informal court dress of the said to be of Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263),
Heian warrior, rose to political power by Heian aristocrat: an eboshi (black head- who as shikken (regent for the shogun) be-
destroying the rival Taira clan, and all po- gear), a kariginu (hunting robe) on the up- tween 1246 and 1256 exercised supreme
tential competitors within his own lineage. per body, and sashinuki (baggy pants tied power in the Kamakura shogunate. The
In 1192 he was appointed by the emperor around the ankles) on the lower body. This construction of Kenchôji, where this work
seiitaishdgun (Great General Who Quells apparel, also found on the statue of Hojo is enshrined, began in 1249 at Tokiyori's
the Barbarians) and, as the first shogun of Tokiyori in Kenchôji (cat. 44), is typical of initiative and was completed in 1253. Its
the Kamakura shogunate, initiated a warriors' statues in the Kamakura period. first chief priest was Lanqi Daolong (J:
warrior-class regime. The head and torso were carved from sep- Rankei Doryú; 1213-1278), a Chinese Chan
This statue of Yoritomo purportedly arate pieces of wood, front and back, with (Zen) priest of the Rinzai school. The tem-
was enshrined at Shirahatasha in the additional pieces for the face and knees. ple has been destroyed by fire several
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura. In The interior of the statue is hollow, and times; hence no contemporary written
1180 the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was the eyes are inlaid crystal. Much of the documents concerning this statue are ex-
moved by Yoritomo from Yuigahama to its original polychromy has been lost. NK tant.
present location, and it thrived under gov- Numerous works based on close ob-
ernment support in the following years. servation of the subject were made during

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