Page 137 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

ji Senju Kannon 72 Anteira Taishó and Santeira Taishó
gilt bronze polychromed wood
a
h. 104.5 (4i /8) h. Anteira Taishó, 91.5 (36);
l
Kamakura period, c. 1237-1247 Santeira Taishó, 81.7 ($2 /s)
Nagoji, Chiba Prefecture Kamakura period, i3th century
Important Cultural Property Honzan Jionji, Yamagata Prefecture
This gilt bronze Buddhist image, with Anteira Taishó (Divine General Anteira)
forty-two arms cast separately and at- and Santeira Taishó (Divine General San-
tached to its body, represents the typical teira) are two of the Twelve Divine Gen-
form of Senju Kannon (literally thousand- erals (Jüni Shinshó), attendants of Yakushi,
armed Kannon, though most images were Buddha of Healing. The twelve divine
made with "many" arms representing the generals, presented as armored warriors,
canonical thousand). The thousand arms are said to protect devotees of the Yakushi
stand for the infinite number of means Buddha. In the Yakushi Hall at Honzan
that Kannon, Bodhisattva of Compassion, Jionji, the twelve generals flank the princi-
employs to save suffering creatures. Origi- pal images, the triad of Yakushi and his bo-
nally this image also represented Eleven- dhisattvas Nikkó (Solar Radiance) and
Headed Kannon, each head symbolizing a Gakkó (Lunar Radiance).
vow to save the world. But the eleven Each general represents one of Yaku-
small heads and the image of Amida, Bud- shi's vows to save humankind. In addition,
dha of Compassion, to whom the bodhi- the twelve generals correspond to the
sattva Kannon pertains, have been lost. twelve horary animals who represent the
Portions of fingers and accessories are also twelve divisions of heaven in ancient Chi-
missing. nese astronomy: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit,
A kao carved in the joint of one of the dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey,
hands indicates that this image was made rooster, dog, and boar. Each animal repre-
for Chiba Tanetoki, a descendant of Chiba sents one year of a twelve-year cycle; it
Tsunetane who was a supporter of Mina- also represents a day in a twelve-day cycle,
moto Yoritomo (1147-1199). Tanetoki was a a two-hour period in each day, and a com-
minor ruler in the northeast section of pass direction. Each general would protect
present-day Chiba Prefecture. Following the time periods and direction ruled by his
the custom of warriors of eastern Japan, corresponding animal. Anteira Taishó cor-
who typically built a place of worship in- responds to the rabbit, Santeira Taishó to
side their residences to enshrine a Bud- the snake.
dhist image, Tanetoki probably placed this Among the twelve pieces, the statue
Senju Kannon in a corner of his dwelling. of Santeira Taishó is particularly fine. He
This piece probably was made between strikes a vigorous pose, with his left arm
1237 and 1247, when Tanetoki served the raised, and wind-blown hair and sash. His
Kamakura shogun, before the Kamakura upturned face expresses anger through
area became the center of sculpture in the the knitted brows and the down-turned
Eastern provinces. mouth. The image is made of Japanese
The protruding abdomen adds a note cypress (hinoki) in the joined woodblock
of realism to the otherwise columnar form. technique (yosegi zukuri), in which the
The style of this powerful figure derives main part of the figure—head and torso—
from Unkei's (d. 1223; cat. 70), which set is assembled from more than two pieces of
the standard for sculpture in the eastern separately carved and hollowed-out wood.
provinces. A delicate expression in the Cloth is pasted on the surface of the sculp-
slanting eyes under long arching eye- ture, which is then coated with sabi urushi
brows, the narrow hips, and the elabo- (a paste of raw lacquer and pulverized
rately draped garment, though, are less stone), black lacquer, and white pigment.
characteristic of Unkei, and suggest the in- Over this, flower designs and dragons are
fluence of Higo Jôkei, a sculptor of Bud- carefully drawn with shaded colored pig-
dhist images who was then active in Kyoto ments. For the hair and the cuirass, cut
and who adopted the style of Song dynasty gold leaf is applied.
Buddhist paintings. NYS Sagaeshó, where Jionji is located, was
a manor famous from the Heian period for
its fine horses, which were sent to Kyoto
for the use of the courtiers. In the main
hall of Jionji are a number of statues, in-
cluding the five aspects of the Bodhisattva
of Wisdom and Intellect (Monju Goson),
which were made in Kyoto in the late
twelfth century. This indicates the exis-
tence of an early and strong tie between
the temple and Kyoto. The statues of the
Twelve Divine Generals were probably
made by a Buddhist sculptor in Kyoto.
SH

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