Shinkai

Japanese: 信海 - しんかい

Year of birth: Date of birth and death unknown. A painter-monk active in the late Kamakura period. His name remains on three white sketches (drawings) handed down at Daigoji Temple in Kyoto. Although his detailed career is unknown, he is thought to be the same as "Daigo Hoin Shinkai," who is recorded in the Sonpi Bunmyaku as the fourth son of Fujiwara Nobuzane, a master of portrait painting. The "Bishamonten statue," "Kongo Doji statue," and "Acala statue" (all in the Daigoji Temple collection) were all painted during the Koan era (1278-1288), so there is no contradiction in considering him as Nobuzane's son in terms of his active period. The three statues are thought to be drawings created by Shinkai, not simple copies, and a new technique of using different shades of ink is used. The "Acala statue" in particular is famous for its innovative appearance and bold lines. <References> Sawa Takaken, "Shinkai and His Iconography" (Buddhist Art, No. 12)

(Arata Yajima)

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

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
鎌倉後期に活躍した画僧。京都醍醐寺に伝わる3点の白描図像(画稿)にその名が残る。詳しい経歴は不明であるが,『尊卑分脈』に似絵の名手藤原信実の第4子として記された「醍醐法印信海」に当たるとみられる。「毘沙門天像」「金剛童子像」「不動明王像」(すべて醍醐寺蔵)はいずれも弘安年間(1278～88)に描かれており,活躍期の点でも信実の子とみて矛盾しない。3点は単なる模写ではない信海創案の図と思われ,墨の濃淡を使い分ける新しい描法も用いられている。なかでも「不動明王像」は,斬新な像容と闊達な描線で名高い。<参考文献>佐和隆研「信海とその図像」(『仏教芸術』12号)

(矢島新)

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