| Yosegi is a sculpture technique, in which individually carved blocks of wood are joined together. The carving is then completed and the assembled sculpture is finished with lacquer and gold leaf or paint. This is the technique that Genkei used when creating all five hundred rakans at Gohyaku Rakanji (Temple of the Five Hundred Arharts). During the later portion of the Heian period (794-1185), the “single-woodblock construction” (ichiboku-zukuri) was replaced by “joined/multiple woodblock construction” (yosegi-zukuri). This came about do the spread of the Amida faith among the aristocracy, and growing demand for new temples and Buddhist images. The one who revolutionized this new technique of yosegi-zukuri was the sculpture Jocho. Yosegi-zukuri made it possible for sculptures to be made from several pieces that appear to be unable to interlock. This style was not only just a technical innovation but also aided, in the treatment of the Buddhist images’ faces and bodies, the trends and tastes of the times. Sadly, Jocho has only one surviving work, which is an image of Amida Nyorai in the Phoenix Hall of Byodoin near Kyoto. |
 |
| This next image is another example of the yosegi-zukuri technique. It is a guardian figure, one of a pair that is known as Ni-o (two kings). These guardian images are places one both sides of a Buddhist temple. Generally these types of sculpture have exaggerated musculature and facial expressions. Originally the sculpture would have been brightly painted over a layer of black lacquer. While the artist is unknown, the year it was built is around 1360, which is mid-Nambokucho period. |
 |
| Another yosegi sculpture is one that is stated by the Jishu-school to depict Donkai (1265-1327), the fourth patriarch of the Ji sect, the first abbot of Konkoji, and the founder of the Shojikoji in Kanagawa Prefecture. Later on, writing was found inside the statue, declaring that Koshun sculpted this portrait of the fifty-seven year old Yo Amidabustsu (Itchin’s Buddhist name). Itchin (1278-1355), the sixth patriarch of the Jiji sect and the abbot of Shojokoji, was the first abbot of the temple Koshoji. One of the prominent features of this piece, which is fairly common among yosegi sculptures, is the crystal eyes. Also, this sculture was created in the Nanbokucho period. |
 |
Select Bibliography http://fusion.stolaf.edu/art/asian/index.cfm?fuseaction=showobject&ObjectID=1928 http://web-japan.org/museum/sculphist/shheianj/shheianjr.html http://www.artsmia.org/collection/search/art.cfm?id=3214 http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/amida-photo-tour.shtml |