Kokei

Japanese: 康慶 - こうけい

Years of birth: unknown. A Nara Buddhist sculptor from the end of the Heian period to the early Kamakura period. He was a disciple of Yasutomo and the teacher of Kaikei, the father of Unkei. Records indicate that in 1152 he erected a five-foot-tall Kisshoten statue, and in 1177 he was bestowed the title of Hokkyo at the time of the memorial service for the five-story pagoda at Rengeo-in Temple. During this time, the inscription on the Dainichi Nyorai statue at Enjo-ji Temple, made in 1176, reads "Unkei, a disciple of the great Buddhist sculptor Yasutomo," suggesting that he supervised Unkei during its creation, and the inscription on the Jizo Bodhisattva statue at Zuirin-ji Temple in Shizuoka, made in 1171 and recently discovered, most likely refers to Yasutomo as "Hokkyo □kei." One of Kokei's main achievements was leading his followers, including Unkei and Kaikei, in the restoration of Todaiji and Kofukuji temples after the burning of Nara by Taira no Shigehira in 1112, and playing an active role on a par with In and En school sculptors. In the creation of the statues for the South Round Hall of Kofukuji temple, which took place from 1188 to the following year, he presided over the creation of the principal image, the Acalanatha Bodhisattva, as well as the Four Heavenly Kings and the Six Patriarchs of the Hosso sect, and presented a new realistic style following the classics of Tenpyo sculpture. Through these restoration projects, he also trained many disciples, establishing the foundations of the Kamakura style and paving the way for the subsequent prosperity of the Kei school. It is believed that Kokei had already reached the rank of Hogan by 1194, and abdicated the title to Unkei the following year, when the memorial service for the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji was held. Furthermore, he made a Gigaku mask with an inscription dated April 7, 7th year of the same year (still extant at Todaiji Temple and Shindo-ji Temple), and in the same year, he made the attendant statues and the Four Heavenly Kings statues of the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji Temple together with Unkei and Kaikei, which are known as his final achievements. <References> Kobayashi Tsuyoshi, "The Great Buddha Sculptor Hogen Kokei" (Research on Japanese Sculptors), Matsushima Ken, "The Former Principal Image of the Nanendo Hall and the Reconstructed Image in Kamakura" (Meiho Japanese Art, Vol. 5), Tanaka Tsuguhito, "The Seated Jizo Bodhisattva Statue of Zuirin-ji Temple with an Inscription from the Year 1 of the Jisho Era" (Research on Ancient Japanese Buddhist Sculptors)

(Kazuharu Asai)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
平安末・鎌倉初期の奈良仏師。康朝の弟子で運慶の父,快慶の師に当たる。記録では仁平2(1152)年に高さ5尺の吉祥天像の造立が伝えられ,また治承1(1177)年蓮華王院五重塔供養の際には法橋に叙せられた。この間,安元2(1176)年作の円成寺大日如来像の銘文に「大仏師康慶実弟子運慶」と記され,その制作に当たって運慶を指導したと思われるほか,近年発見された治承1年作の静岡・瑞林寺地蔵菩薩像の銘文にみえる「法橋□慶」は,康慶の可能性が強い。康慶の主な事跡としては,治承4年の平重衡による南都焼討ち後,東大寺や興福寺の復興造像に運慶,快慶などの一門を率いて造仏に当たり,院派や円派の仏師に並ぶ活躍をしたことがあげられる。そして文治4(1188)年から翌年にかけて行われた興福寺南円堂諸像の造仏では,本尊の不空羂索観音像をはじめ,四天王像,法相六祖像などの制作を主宰し,天平彫刻の古典にならって新たな写実的作風を提示した。また,これらの復興事業を通じて多くの弟子たちを育て,鎌倉様式の基礎を確立するとともに,以後の慶派の隆盛を築いた。なお康慶は建久5(1194)年には,すでに法眼位に上っていたとみられ,翌6年の東大寺大仏殿の供養に際して,それを運慶に譲位している。さらに同7年4月7日の銘がある伎楽面(東大寺,神童寺に現存)を造り,同年,東大寺大仏殿脇侍および四天王像を運慶,快慶と共に造ったのが最後の事跡として知られている。<参考文献>小林剛「大仏師法眼康慶」(『日本彫刻作家研究』),松島健「南円堂旧本尊と鎌倉再興像」(『名宝日本の美術』5巻),田中嗣人「治承元年在銘の瑞林寺地蔵菩薩坐像」(『日本古代仏師の研究』)

(浅井和春)

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