12th Century Style Change

Heian Period

• 300 years of stability and peace

• 794-1185

• Kyoto centre, push outwards especially into Ainu territory

• aristocrats owned all ownable land

  • meant to check in on their provinces

  • created proxy lords

• rise of the samurai 

• Taira family increasingly powerful, make a lot of enemies

• Minamoto rival family

• 1180 war breaks out

• 1185 entire Taira are dead

  • whole Imperial family dead except for one woman

  • Daibu diary -> court lady to the Empress

Minamoto Atonement

• Hungry Ghost Scroll late 12th C

  • suddenly the cities are full of ‘hungry ghosts’

• Minamoto are victorious in the war 1190s

  • now responsible for atonement

• people who die in anger and are not tended to become onryo -> roving angry spirits

  • have to be averted

• Pagodas -> 84,000 small clay pagodas offered by Minamoto in 1197 to pacify spirits

• Unkei and Kaikei commissioned ichigyo sanrei

  • 3 bows for every line written

  • also 100,000 chants of nenbutsu and daimoku

  • all done during sculpture

Kamakura Period

• Minamoto take and establish military government (bakufu) in Kamakura

  • far from influence of Kyoto court

• Chogen -> in charge of temple reconstruction

• different style in Kamakura period

  • shift from serene balance to hyperrealim

  • Kei school

    • Unkei and Kaikei

  • sculpture of Chogen

    • wrinkles, asymmetry

  • Kamakura style sculpture of Kuya, itinerant priest

Todaiji Temple

• Built by Chogen under imperial sponsorship

• Guardian Kings Agyo and Ungyo erected 1203

  • dramatic movements and clothing

Sanjusangendo

• reconstructed 13thC from late 12thC

• 1,000 thousand-armed Kanon statues

• also Gods of Wind and Thunder

Myoe

• Handsome Monk, sliced own ear off out of despair that he would never meet Shakyamuni

• cared a lot about women and orphans

• 13thC