Tankei

1000-armed Kannon

Tankei ( Japanese 湛慶 ; born 1173 ; died June 13, 1256 ) was an important Japanese sculptor of the early Kamakura period .

Live and act

Tankei was the eldest son of Unkei and supported him in the last years of the 12th century, for example in 1198 when making the Niō figures (仁王) for the Tō-ji in Kyōto. In 1212, when the Unkei workshop completed the sculpture for the Hokuen-dō (北円堂) of the Kōfuku-ji , Tankei had already received the title of Hōgen . And in the following year he was awarded the highest rank, with the title Hōin , for his work together with his father for the statues in the nine-story pagoda of the Hosshō-ji (法勝寺), a temple in Kyoto, which, however, only extends to the Muromachi -Time existed. After the death of his father in 1223, Tankei continued to be creative in the continuation of his style of refined realism.

Much of Tankei's work was commissioned by Myōe (明恵; 1173–1232), the abbot of Kōzan-ji , and it is believed that the Hyakukō-shin (白光神) and Zemmyō-shim (善妙神) , Shinto deities who are there in the temple come from him. His most important work, however, is the restoration of the 1000 thousand-armed Kannon figures (千手観音, Senjū Kannon) in Rengeō-in in Kyōto, which were lost in a fire in 1250.

Tankei began working for this as the manager of his workshop, which employed a number of wood carvers, and was supported by wood carvers from the in and en school. In 1254 Tankei had completed the large central, thousand-armed Kannon and ten others. The sculptures have been preserved to this day. The Sekkei-ji in the city of Kōchi also has important sculptures: a Bishamon-ten (毘沙門天), a Kichijō-ten (吉祥天) and the Zennishi Dōji (善膩師童子, one of the companions of the Bishamon).

Remarks

↑ In the possession of the Myōhō-in in Kyoto.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Hōgen ( 法眼 ) is an award originally for priests, but then also for artists, scientists etc. a. - Hōin ( 法印 ) is a higher level.

literature

S. Noma (Ed.): Tankei. In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , pp.
Tazawa, Yutaka: Tankei . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
Laurence P. Roberts: Tankei. In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Tankei - collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Tankei
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	湛慶 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Japanese sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH	1173
DATE OF DEATH	June 13, 1256

[1] In the possession of the Myōhō-in in Kyoto.

[B-2] Hōgen ( 法眼 ) is an award originally for priests, but then also for artists, scientists etc. a. - Hōin ( 法印 ) is a higher level.