Hōkan Miroku
Known as Hōkan Miroku ( Japanese 宝 冠 弥勒 ), the sculpture of a pensive bodhisattva is a wood carving that is currently kept in Kōryūji in Kyoto and is one of the national treasures of Japan . Another, but less popular name for the sculpture is Miroku bosatsu hanka shiyuizō 弥勒 菩薩 半 跏 思惟 像 . The sculpture is dated to the early seventh century. Both the origin of the sculpture and its identification are still controversial. Although their name means " Maitreya wearing the crown ", there is disagreement in research as to whether the group of thoughtful Bodhisattva are actually representations of the Bodhisattva Maitreya.
Material, technology and state of preservation
The sculpture is made of the wood of the Japanese red pine and was carved from one piece of wood using the technique called ichiboku-zukuri . Overall, the sculpture is very well preserved and made of very high quality. The carving is delicate and filigree. In its current condition, the high level of craftsmanship of the carving can be seen particularly clearly, because the sculpture was originally lacquered and gilded and overall had a fuller appearance. In the course of a restoration at the beginning of the 20th century, however, the paint and gilding were removed. Nowadays you can recognize the pine wood with its fine grain. Broken off at the edges of the crown were largely filled in during the restoration. A major damage is a wide crack in the wood that runs vertically over the angled leg, as well as cracks or nicks in the area of the crown. Due to the restoration, the fingers of the right hand are no longer on the cheek, but are a short distance from it. However, the original appearance of the sculpture can still be clearly seen in old photographs.
Object description
The sculpture is about 123.5 cm high. It shows a young man with a tall, slender body and gentle features with half-closed eyes. The figure is dressed simply. Her upper body is completely free and she only wears a wide leg cover that falls in loose folds and covers the entire platform on which the figure sits. Her headdress is a simple, three-pointed crown. The rather steep bulges of the crown edge are gently curved and regularly arranged around the circumference, with one of the tips pointing forward. She wears no body jewelry and no bracelets. The leg wall is cut wide, completely envelops the base and is held in place by a simple, scarf-like sash that is pulled through a simple gathering ring for attachment. The left foot of the figure stands on a lotus pedestal that follows the foot in its outline. The petals of this lotus base are relatively voluminous and powerful. It consists of two levels, a lower one with larger, elongated petals and an upper one with smaller ones. These petals are very abstract.
dress
The clothes of the Hōkan Miroku are very simple. The upper body remains completely unclothed and the figure only wears the trousers known as antarvastra , a loose, loose wrap skirt . The sculpture has no decorative ribbons or tassels, but only a gathering ring on each side of the hip, through which the simple, unhemmed sash that girds the antarvastra is pulled . However, this band does not fall down, but disappears under the figure's buttocks. Otherwise the surface of the garment is smooth and unadorned and gives the impression that it was made of simple, light cloth. Jewelry is also not available. However, it is possible that jewelry made of these materials was present before the lacquer surface and gold plating were removed. This is no longer understandable today due to the few photographs. In one of the historical photographs, however, it can be seen that a decorative scarf was placed over the figure's left shoulder.
style
The simplicity of the clothing and the jewelry as well as the body design of the sculpture connects to the sculpture style of the Northern Wei . Emperor Xiaowen ( Chinese 孝文 ; ruled AD 471 to 499) ushered in a phase of strong Sinization , which also had a lasting influence on Buddhist art. Until then, Buddhist art was strongly influenced by the Gandharas and thus influenced by South and Central Asia. It was not until the fifth century that the change to a Sinized Buddhist art took place. This was characterized by a departure from the naturalistic representation. Instead, the figures became more abstract and their appearance more idealized. Clothing conventions also played a role. They differed not only in terms of the way in which the individual items of clothing were worn from the Indian models, but also in terms of the materials. According to the monastic rules of the order Vinaya-pitaka, there are clothing regulations that must be observed by the monks. These prescribe the number and type of clothing as well as the nature of the clothing. The Chinese conventions deviate from this regulation. This can be seen in many examples, including the examples discussed here. It was therefore a requirement to hide excess fabric under the buttocks when sitting. Chinese sculptures, however, mostly sat on pedestals or pedestals that were overhanged by the wide, flowing leg garments. In addition, the antarvastra was depicted with lavish and lush folds, which emphasized the deviation from the Gandharic style, which strictly reflected the dress code. This way of dealing with the excess material was carried over to the representation of the Bodhisattva and adopted throughout East Asia. In addition, the material of clothing worn in China differed from that prescribed in Vinaya-pitaka. Often the garments were not made of rags and scraps, or of coarse fabric, but consisted of silk . The representations were based on the clothing conventions customary in China and so the clothing of the sculptures was characterized by delicacy and lightness, especially after the phase of strong Sinization. It was mostly tight and threw finer folds in clothing. This style was supported by the stylistic device of the “wet robe” ( Chinese 出水 , Pinyin chūshǔi - “to get out of the water; to leave the water”), which emerged in the art schools of Mathura and Sarnath in India , enjoyed great popularity in Central Asia and so it finally got to China . The monumental Buddha of the Yungang grottoes are exemplary of this style, which is also shown in contemporary representations of thoughtful bodhisattva. The clothes are mostly depicted very realistically on sculptures of the northern Wei. However, through the intended representation of thin silk fabric, the folds often appear abstract and idealized. The folds here, however, are more irregular and voluminous and suggest the use of a coarser fabric.
Historical contextualization and comparison objects
The Hōkan Miroku from the Kōryū-ji collection is stylistically closest to the national treasure of South Korea No. 83 . In general, figurative representations in thoughtful poses came to be known in China in the early fifth century, coming from the west. From there they spread to Korea and Japan. “Bodhisattva in a pensive posture” enjoyed great popularity until the seventh century, but later faded into the background, especially when compared to depictions of the transcendent Buddha Amitabha . First they appeared in triad representations or narrative representations. Small votive steles, which appeared on small votive stelae during the first half of the sixth century in the Hebei Province region , depict pensive bodhisattva in a central position. These often show scenes that point to Siddharta Gautama before enlightenment, for example through the positioning of the central figure on a lion throne. Some also have inscriptions that they call tàizǐ 太子, ie “(Crown) Prince” and explicitly refer to Siddharta Gautama. In Shandong the distribution of thoughtful Bodhisattva is rather limited, but the representations here are partly life-size, round sculptural stone carvings. These served as models for the full sculptures of the Korean peninsula and, as a result, for Japanese sculptures. However, these pieces do not have any inscriptions or specific names. Their interpretation and naming is therefore unclear. The most important object of comparison is the national treasure of South Korea No. 83. Together, they are probably the best-known examples of pensive Bodhisattva or pensive Maitreya. They are often referred to as “twin sculptures” because at first glance they are strikingly similar. They differ only slightly in their elaboration, but are of different sizes and made of different materials. The Korean piece is cast from bronze and fire-gilded . This gilding is now partly lost and the bronze surface is slightly patinated . The fingers of the right hand still touch the bodhisattva's cheek, a feature that the Hōkan Miroku has lost. The positioning of the folds on the leg wall is slightly shifted, but stylistically very similar. Many sculptures or stone carvings from the Kingdom of Paekche and Japanese sculptures in the asuka-temporal tori style show comparable characteristics in the depiction of clothing and bodies, since Paekche occupies a central position between Shandong, from where it took up Chinese influences, and Japan, with which it is close maintained diplomatic contacts. The Tori style can be viewed as a direct descendant of the Wei style and many sculptures show comparable garments. The Hōkan Miroku and the national treasure of South Korea No. 83 form, so to speak, a hybrid form between the free-standing, life-size sculptures of the Shandong Peninsula and the typical figure style of the Wei Dynasty.
literature
- Kang Woobang (Ed.): Eternal Images of Shakyamuni: Two Gilt-bronze Korean National Treasures , Korea Foundation , Seoul (2008)
- Nickel, Lukas (ed .; exhibition catalog): The return of the Buddha. Chinese sculptures of the 6th century. The temple find of Qingzhou , Museum Rietberg (among others), Zurich (among others) (2001)
- Lee Junghee: The Origins and Development of the Pensive Bodhisattva Images of Asia , Artibus Asiae 53.3 (1993), pp. 311-357
- Washizuka Hiromitsu et al. (Ed .; exhibition catalog): Transmitting Forms of Divinity: Early Buddhist Art from Korea and Japan , Abrams, New York (2003)