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Unkei

Type Figure Region Japan Time c. 1150–1223 Also known as Unkei、運慶、运庆法印

Unkei was a master sculptor of the Kei school in Japan's Kamakura period, born c. 1150, son of Kōkei;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1165–1176Nara · NaraUnkei came from the Kei school of Kōfuku-ji in Nara and studied Buddhist sculpture under his father Kōkei in his youth. In 1176 he carved a seated Dainichi Nyorai at Enjō-ji in Nara, the earliest surviving dated work of Unkei, still close to late Heian tradition yet showing a tendency toward realism.
  2. 1186Izu · KantōIn 1186 Unkei was commissioned by Hōjō Tokimasa to carve a triad of Amida plus Fudō and Bishamon statues at Genshōin in Izu, with his name inscribed alongside Tokimasa's. This was a key moment in establishing patronage ties between the Kei school and the emerging warrior government.
  3. 1195–1203Tōdai-ji · NaraAfter the Genpei War, Tōdai-ji was restored, and around 1195 Unkei received the rank of hōgan monk for his sculptural work. In 1203, with Kaikei and more than ten assistants, he completed a pair of Niō (Kongōrikishi) statues at the South Gate, with exaggerated musculature and powerful dynamism, marking the peak of Kamakura realistic sculpture.
  4. 1210–1223Kōfuku-ji · NaraAround 1212 Unkei carved Maitreya plus Asanga and Vasubandhu statues for the Hokuendō of Kōfuku-ji, highly portrait-like in character. Thereafter he mainly served the Kamakura shogunate circle, dying in 1223; his sons Tankei, Kōshō, and others with Kaikei continued to lead the Kei school.

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