Collection Online as of October 3, 2023

Portrait of the Zen Master Hotto Kokushi (bench)

c. 1286

Part of a set. See all set records

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185-1333)

Wood with hemp cloth, black lacquer, and iron clamps

Overall: 36.5 x 74 x 38.1 cm (14 3/8 x 29 1/8 x 15 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1970.67.b

Location

235B Japanese

Fun Fact

Two famous sculptural portraits of this monk, one at the temple Ankokuji in Hiroshima, and another at the temple Kōkokuji in Wakayama, are dated to 1275 and 1286, respectively.

Description

Hottō Enmyō Kokushi, is a posthumous title bestowed upon the Zen Buddhist monk Shinchi Kakushin (1203–1298) by the emperor Go-Daigo. The title means “perfectly awakened national teacher of the Dharma lamp.” Considered a fine example of “Kamakura realism,” while downplaying detail in the body, the sculpture emphasizes fidelity in representing the visage of Kakushin.

Provenance

?-1970

(Mayuyama and Company, Tokyo, Japan, ?-1970, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1970-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1970-present

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 370 archive.org

Lee, Sherman E, Ursula Korneitchouk, Michael R Cunningham, Ursula Korneitchouk, Cleveland Museum of Art, Japan House Gallery, Japan Society (New York, N.Y.), and Japan House Gallery. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 42-43, no. 20

Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 190–191

Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012. Reproduced: p. 26 - 27

"Reopening of the Asian Galleries at The Cleveland Museum of Art: An Interview with David Franklin." Orientations: The Magazine for Collectors and Connoisseurs of Asian Art, vol. 44, no. 8 (November/December 2013): pp. 60-63. Reproduced: p. 63

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 235). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 15, 2013-November 16, 2015).

One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981).

Year in Review: 1970. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-March 7, 1971).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Masterworks of Wood: China and Japan. Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (organizer) (November 4-December 5, 1976); Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (January 13-March 27, 1977).

Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983).

Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).

Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).

Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).