1872‐1979
Hirakushi Denchu was born in Okayama Prefecture.
He moved to Tokyo in 1897, and learned from Takamura Koun.
Strongly influenced by Yonehara Unkai, his senior pupil, he developed his own carving style.
He originally produced mainly Buddhist carving works, and became a coterie of the Japan Art Institute in 1914.
Later, he devoted himself to the study of molding.
In the Showa Era, he worked on portrait carving, and introduced parquetry
and brilliant coloring skills based on traditional techniques into his carving works.
In 1962, he received the Order of Culture.
1911 68.0 cm tall
This is the figure of Yuima, a fictional character who is said to have answered questions from Monju Bosatsu, a Bodhisattva of wisdom, with only silence. The mouth is closed in a straight line, and his eyes are piercing.
A furious spirit and a sense of tension are full throughout the body. This is a marvelous work that was created when his expression skills in Buddhist sculptures were at their peak.
