An important and very large painted wooden sculpture of a monk

An important and very large wooden sculpture of an high ranking monk in a black robe sitting while holding a rosary in his hands.

Taking this rare sitting position into consideration it probably represents an important patriarch or an abbot from a monastery. An example of a statue of a monk sitting on a chair with shoes in front of him is the statue of Fuō Kobushi in Seiunji Temple (Yamanashi Province) dated 1353 and a statue without shoes that of Buttsū Zenji in the Hōkokuji (Ehime Province) dating to the 13th century (Special Exhibition of Buddhist Portraiture, Nara National Museum 1981).

As is usual for this type of sculpture, the slightly larger than life head with inlaid eyes is carved separately and inserted in the body. Radiocarbon tests of the body of the statue and of the head show that the wood of the body is older than of the head. This was probably due to the fact that this was an important figure and the head has been recrafted 500 to 600 years after the original statue was created in the early Kamakura period. This is perhaps because the earlier example of the head was damaged. The head has a rather stern and lofty but slightly less expressive face, as it looks like the created person is in meditation and holding his breath. This is shown by the striking laryngeal prominence. The left hem of the robe shows traces of gold lacquer flower scrolls.