Sadatō - Chief

Japanese: 定朝 - じょうちょう

Year of death: Tenki 5.8.1 (1057.9.2)
Year of birth: Unknown. A Buddhist sculptor from the mid-Heian period. He is said to be the son or disciple of Yasunao. Jocho's name first appears in records in February 1020, when he was commissioned by Fujiwara no Michinaga to create a 69cm tall Amida statue for the Amida Hall of Muryoju-in Temple at Hosho-ji Temple under the guidance of Yasunao. In July 1022, he was the first Buddhist sculptor to be awarded the rank of Hokkyo for the sculptures in the Golden Hall and Five Large Halls of Hosho-ji Temple, which were also commissioned by Michinaga, and this promoted the subsequent improvement of the social status of Buddhist sculptors. He also participated in the sculpture of the Yakushi Hall of the same temple, which began in June of the same year, and was completed in December of the following year. Furthermore, in 1026, he commissioned the creation of 27 life-size Buddhist statues to pray for the birth of Michinaga's daughter, Empress Iko, and on this occasion he led a group of 21 large sculptors and 105 small sculptors. In addition, in April 1036, he created a triad of Buddha statues upon the death of Emperor Goichijo, and in May 1040, he created a silver statue of the Yakishishi Buddha, about one foot tall, as a guardian Buddha for Emperor Gosuzaku. In February of the following year, he also worked on creating the dragon head of the dragon-headed, eel-necked boat used for flower banquets. In 1046, the halls and statues of Kofuku-ji were burned down and rebuilt, and the following year, he began repairing and creating statues at the temple, and in 1046, he was appointed Hokan for his work. One of his surviving works is the 18-meter-tall Amida Buddha, the principal image of the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple in Uji, which was completed in 1053. The Phoenix Hall was built on the site of Fujiwara no Yorimichi's villa, and the principal image of the Amida Buddha is praised as a masterpiece of the late Heian period and Fujiwara style, demonstrating Jocho's mature state of mind in his later years. The main body of the statue does not have much depth, but it shows well-balanced, natural proportions overall, and the facial features with round cheeks, as well as the depictions of each part of the body such as the chest and stomach are all calmly arranged with a subtle tone of inflection. Its fragrant appearance, along with its golden radiance, is thought to be the same as the description in the Shunki (the diary of Fujiwara no Sukefusa) of the principal image of the Saiin Kunitsune-do (c. 1054), also known to have been created in Jocho's later years, which describes the image as "like the full moon in appearance," and it is considered a concrete example of the style that later sculptors of Buddhist statues inherited as the "original style (model) of Buddha." This was not limited to the statue itself, but also included the halo with flying celestial beings carved into the gorgeous openwork, the nine-tiered lotus pedestal with embossed hosoga flowers on the tanbana, and the canopy also carved with hosoga flowers, all of which were left to the ingenuity of the genius Jocho, and the Jocho style is considered a comprehensive art that also takes into consideration the grandeur surrounding the statue. On the other hand, Jocho is also known as the perfector of the "yosegi-zukuri" style, in which the body of the statue is assembled by joining several pieces of wood together in sections, rather than the traditional single-wood construction, which made it possible for subsequent statues to be made by division of labor among sculptors, and he also established the Butsujo as a specialized collective organization for sculptors, and established a system of large and small sculptors. After Jocho, the hereditary succession and schools of sculptors gradually became established, and his son Kakusuke led the Shichijo Butsujo, while his senior disciple Nagase opened the Sanjo Butsujo, which led to the division of the In school and En school during the Insei period, and even to the Nara Buddhist sculptors. The Cloud-Covered Bodhisattva that decorates the walls of Byodo-in Temple's Phoenix Hall and the two phoenixes on the roof (made of gilt bronze with copper-plated wings) were also the work of Jocho and his disciples. References: Mori Hisashi, "Yasunao and Jocho" (Research on the History of Japanese Buddhist Sculpture), Kobayashi Tsuyoshi, "The Great Buddhist Sculptor Jocho" (Research on Japanese Sculptors), Mizuno Keizaburo, "The Great Buddhist Sculptor Jocho" (Japanese Art, No. 164), Tanaka Tsuguhito, "Jocho and the Jocho Style" (Research on Ancient Japanese Buddhist Sculptors), Nishikawa Shinji (ed.), Byodo-in Taikan, Vol. 2 (Sculpture)

(Kazuharu Asai)

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

Japanese:

没年：天喜5.8.1(1057.9.2)
生年：生年不詳
平安中期の仏師。康尚の子または弟子と伝えられる。定朝の名が記録に初めてみえるのは,寛仁4(1020)年2月,藤原道長の発願による法成寺無量寿院阿弥陀堂の丈六九体阿弥陀像を康尚の指導のもとに造ったときである。治安2(1022)年7月には,同じく道長が発願した法成寺金堂並びに五大堂の造仏で仏師として初めて法橋に叙され,以後の仏師の社会的地位の向上をうながした。また同年6月から始まる同寺薬師堂の造仏にたずさわり,翌年12月に完成。さらに万寿3(1026)年には,道長の娘中宮威子の御産祈祷のため等身仏像27体の造立をおこなうが,このとき,21人の大仏師と105人の小仏師を率いて事に当たった。そのほか長元9(1036)年4月には後一条天皇死去に際して三尊仏を,また長久1(1040)年5月には後朱雀天皇の念持仏として1尺ほどの銀製薬師如来像をそれぞれ造り,翌年2月には花宴に浮かべる竜頭鷁首船の竜頭の制作にもたずさわっている。永承1(1046)年に焼失した興福寺諸堂および諸像再建のために,翌年から同寺仏像の修理造像に当たり,同3年にはその造仏により法眼に叙された。現存する作品としては,天喜1(1053)年に完成した宇治平等院鳳凰堂の本尊丈六阿弥陀如来像があげられる。鳳凰堂は藤原頼通が別荘の地を寺としたもので,本尊の阿弥陀如来像は,定朝晩年の円熟した境地を示す,平安後期,藤原様式の最高傑作とたたえられる。像の本体は,奥行きこそさほどないが,全体にバランスが良くとれた自然なプロポーションを示し,頬のまるい顔立ちをはじめ,胸や腹など各部の表現も,ほのかな抑揚を基調としてあくまで穏やかにまとめられている。その馥郁たるさまは,金色の輝きとともに,史料的には同じく定朝晩年の作と知られる西院邦恒堂(1054頃)の本尊について,「尊容満月のごとし」と形容する『春記』(藤原資房の日記)の記載と同一の情趣と思われ,のちの仏師が「仏の本様(手本)」として継承した様式の具体例とみなされる。このことは仏像本体にとどまらず,華麗な透彫りに飛天を配した光背(飛天光)や,反花などに宝相華を浮彫りする九重の蓮華座,やはり宝相華を透彫りする天蓋を含めて,いずれも天才定朝の創意にゆだねられ,定朝様式とはこのような像の周囲の荘厳をも配慮した総合芸術とみなされる。一方,定朝は従来の一木造から,部分ごとに数材の木を寄せて像身を組み立てる「寄木造」の完成者としても知られ,以後の仏師の分業による造像を可能とするとともに,さらに仏師相互の専門的集団組織としての仏所を確立し,大仏師,小仏師などの制度を整備した。定朝以後,仏師の世襲および流派がしだいに定まり,その子覚助が七条仏所を率い,他方,高弟の長勢は三条仏所を開いて,院政期の院派や円派,さらには奈良仏師などの分立へとつながってゆく。なお,平等院鳳凰堂の壁面を飾る雲中供養菩薩と屋根の2体の鳳凰(金銅製。羽根は銅板鍍金)も,定朝とその弟子たちの手になるものである。<参考文献>毛利久「康尚と定朝」(『日本仏教彫刻史の研究』),小林剛「大仏師定朝」(『日本彫刻作家研究』),水野敬三郎「大仏師定朝」(『日本の美術』164号),田中嗣人「定朝と定朝様式」(『日本古代仏師の研究』),西川新次編『平等院大観』2巻(彫刻)

(浅井和春)

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