Unga and Unkei's Seshin and Muchaku (運賀と運慶の世親像と無著)

From the Kofukuji's Hokuendo (North Octagonal Hall), the imaginary portrait statues of these two brothers are the (at the time) 200-year dead Indian Patriarchs of the Hossō School of Buddhism. The sect was especially important to Kōfukuji Temple (興福寺) and Yakushiji Temple (薬師寺) in Nara, Japan.

Attributed to Unkei (運慶) by the majority of art historians, at least one of these two portrait statues (Seshin (世親像)) was actually carved by Unkei's "fifth son," Unga (運賀). This fact is documented in the statue itself. It is highly probable that another sculptor carved Muchaku, but the name has been damaged and lost to time. The reason why Unkei is almost always given sole credit is because he was listed as the overseer of the statuary in the Kofukuji's North Octagonal Hall, which began in 1208 and finished in 1212, with many high ranking sculptors working underneath him, including his own kin.

Supposedly, no sculptor was allowed to show any personal skill in their carving of this group, as Unkei "directed" how every last wrinkle, fold and fingernail should be carved. This theory, of course, satisfies a lot of art historians, who find it very convenient that two of Unkei's latest extant sculptures be the ones which are very realistic and of a "mature" style which supposedly would take a lifetime to achieve. Any artist, however, would contend that subscribing wholly to this explanation is disingenuous at best and ignorant to a dangerous extent, as evidenced by the "lost" name of Muchaku's sculptor. The hand which literally carved this masterpiece may never be known, but the credit will forever be given to a man who more or less merely watched him sculpt it -- even if he was watching every hammer-and-chisel strike from over the artist's shoulder (which is doubtful).

An argument about these statues' true credits could go both ways, but I would personally enjoy it if history would remember Unga favorably, as he was also an elderly, highly ranked artist (as well as Unkei's son) at the time these statues were carved.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• nara
• 奈良
• kamakura
• 鎌倉
• seshin
• 世親像
• mujaku
• muchaku
• 無著
• kofukuji
• Kōfukuji
• 興福寺
• Hokuendo
• 運賀
• Unga
• 運慶
• Unkei
• butsuzo
• 仏像
• japan
• wood
• carving
• sculpture
• statue