was a Japanese

Busshi A busshi is a Japanese term for Buddhist artists who specialized in painting or sculpting images for Buddhist temples, predominantly in the Nara period. Painters were specifically known as , whereas sculptors who worked with wood were called ''ki- ...

(

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Buddha statue Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained B ...

) of

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, known alongside

Unkei was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. He specialized in statues of the Buddha and other important Buddhist figures. Unkei's early works are fairly traditional, similar in style to pieces by his fathe ...

. Because many busshi of the school have a name including ''kei'' (慶), his school is called ''Kei-ha'' (

Kei school The was a Japanese school (style) of Buddhist sculpture which emerged in the early Kamakura period (c. 1200). Based in Nara, it was the dominant school in Buddhist sculpture in Japan into the 14th century, and remained influential until the 19th. ...

). Kaikei being also called , his style is called and is known to be intelligent, pictorial and delicate. Most of his works have a height of about three shaku, and there are many of his works in existence.

Primary work

Boston Miroku The Boston Miroku is a Kamakura period wooden sculpture of Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. Carved by the Tori Busshi, Buddhist sculptor Kaikei in 1189, it was once held and venerated at Kōfuku-ji, Nara (city), Nara until the temple sold it i ...

(1189) - Earliest attributable work. *Amitabha Triad in Jōdo-ji in Ono (1195) - National Treasure of Japan. Most important work. Height: 24.6 ft *

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

(1201) - National Treasure of Japan. *

Burke Jizō The Burke Jizō is a 13th century Tori Busshi, wooden statue of the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, carved in the around 1202 by the sculptor Kaikei. Originally held at Kōfuku-ji, it was held in private collections for many years, including that of A ...

(1203) -

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Nio Nio or NIO may refer to: * NI Opera, Opera company * Nio (Buddhism), guardians of the Buddha * Nio Inc., a Chinese electric automobile manufacturer * Nicaraguan córdoba, currency by ISO 4217 currency code * National Institute of Oceanography (d ...

(Agyō) in

(1203) - National Treasure of Japan. Joint production with

and 13 assistant sculptors. *Mahamayuri in

Kinpusen-ji is the head temple of a branch of the Shugendō religion called Kinpusen-Shugendō in Yoshino district, Nara Prefecture, Japan. According to tradition, it was founded by En no Gyōja, who propagated a form of mountain asceticism drawing from ...

(1200) - Important Cultural Property of Japan. *Maitreya in

Sanbō-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, Japan, known today primarily for the quality of its garden.Main, Alison. (2002) ''The Lure of the Japanese Garden,'' p. 27./ref> History Sanbō-in was established in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1582–1 ...

(1192) - Important Cultural Property of Japan. *Vairocana in

Ishiyama-dera is a Shingon temple in Ōtsu in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. This temple is the thirteenth of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage. History It was constructed around 747 CE, and is said to have been founded by Rōben. The temple contains a number of cu ...

(1194) - Important Cultural Property of Japan. File:小野浄土寺三尊.jpg, Amitabha Triad in Jōdo-ji in Ono (1195) File:Todaiji Monastery Hachiman by Kaikei (420).jpg,

(1201) File:Nio guardians by Unkei in Nara.jpg,

(Agyō) in Tōdai-ji (1203)

References

External links

Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Kaikei (see index) Japanese sculptors Kei school {{Asia-sculptor-stub