Zen’en (1197–1258) Jizo Bosatsu Japan; Kamakura period (1185-1333), 1221–1226 Japanese cypress (hinoki) with cut gold leaf (kirikane) and pigment, inlaid crystal eyes (gyokugan); staff with metal attachments H. 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm), excluding base Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art 1979.202a-e

The Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha, known as Jizo Bosatsu in Japan, is one of the most popular figures of Japanese worship and belief. Portrayed in the guise of a monk, Jizo is a compassionate being able to aid believers in myriad ways, even rescuing those suffering in hell. From his origins in India as a personification of the virtue of the earth itself, the powerful and beloved Jizo became perhaps the most frequently represented figure in Japanese Buddhist art through the ages.

The small sculpture of Jizo Bosatsu in the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection is one of the Asia Society’s most treasured objects. Made sometime between 1221 and 1226, the image is an early work of the sculptor Zen’en (1197–1258), who was active in the city of Nara during roughly the second quarter of the thirteenth century. Zen’en’s Jizo is an exemplary sculpture of the early Kamakura period (1185–1333), showing the grace, refinement, and lyricism common to the courtly style of the previous era coupled with the realistic proportions and carving technique of Kamakura works. But the Jizo image is not only important for its considerable artistic merit. Inscriptions inside the sculpture reveal its spiritual significance to Zen’en and the group of believers who put their hearts and prayers into the creation of the image. Additionally, information found in the inscriptions—along with the style and dating of the work—suggest that this Jizo was one of five sculptures created as a set representing a group of divinities associated with the powerful Kasuga-Kofukuji complex, the shrine-temple amalgam of the eminent Fujiwara family that had become a de facto institution of the Japanese state.

A work of great beauty, a symbol of fervent devotion, and an emblem of the religious landscape of its time, this Jizo Bosatsu image reveals much about art, faith, and localized practice in early-thirteenth-century Japan. It is an important document of Zen’en’s early style, and adds to our knowledge of Kamakura-period sculpture. The inscriptions on its interior tell of believers’ faith in Jizo and the Kasuga divinities. And the larger set to which it belongs suggests the diverse and combinatory nature of Japanese Buddhism as grafted onto indigenous beliefs and geography. Above all, the Rockefeller Collection’s Jizo Bosatsu is an image of elegant artistry and quiet power, timeless in its consummate grace and enduring appeal.

Melanie B. D. Klein, curator

Support for the Asia Society Museum and Cultural Programs is provided by the Friends of Asian Arts, The Starr Foundation, Arthur Ross, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, National Endowment for the Humanities, Hazen Polsky Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Beningson, Dr. John C. Weber, Altria Group, Inc., American Express and the New York State Council on the Arts.