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Unknown Maker, Japanese

Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai)

Now On View

Maker

Culture

Japanese

Title

Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai)

Period

Heian Period

Year

ca. 1150-1200

Medium

cryptomeria wood

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Cryptomeria wood

Materials

cryptomeria wood

Geography

Origin: Japan

Dimensions

294.6 x 212.1 x 165.1 cm (116 x 83 1/2 x 65 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

36.015

Type

Sculpture

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries

Jun 10, 2014

Label copy

This sculpture was originally the main figure of worship in a temple, surrounded by other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and guardian figures. Visitors would have come to pray or attend rituals and sutra readings performed by monks. The RISD Museum acquired the statue in the 1930s. Records state it was the principal image of Rokuon-ji, a Shingon sub-temple in Hyogo Prefecture, along Japan’s Inland Sea. Legend has it that the temple was destroyed by fire hundreds of years ago but that

the statue was stored in a nearby farmhouse until 1933, when it was brought to the U.S. by the Japanese art dealer Yamanaka. The largest wooden Japanese sculpture in the United States, it was constructed from 11 hollowed and carved pieces of wood. Its simple surfaces and serene expression are representative of the late Heian Period.

Dainichi, or “great sun” in Japanese, is the generative force of all creation, from whom other Buddhas emanate. In a mandala or cosmic diagram, he is the central figure, surrounded by other Buddhas and attendants, identifiable by his high crown and dhyana mudra gesture, in which the tips of his thumbs touch.

M. Ripley "Rip" Hudner Buddha Gallery

Jun 10, 2014

Label copy

This Buddha Mahavairocana is undoubtedly one of the largest representations of a Japanese Buddha that can be seen in this country. It is similar in style to others of the "Jocho style," from the late Heian period, in its overall simplicity, emphasis on the serene quality of the facial expression, relatively slender body, and soft curves of the drapery folds. Sculptures of this period were generally made by assembling hollowed pieces of wood together which prevented the splintering and cracking often seen in solid wood statues from earlier times.

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Japanese

Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), ca. 1150-1200

Cryptomeria wood

294.6 x 212.1 x 165.1 cm (116 x 83 1/2 x 65 inches)

Museum Appropriation Fund 36.015

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