nanto busshi 　南都仏師

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A general term for Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師, working in Nara during and after the Kamakura period. Pre-Kamakura Nara sculptors were called *nara busshi 奈良仏師. The first nanto busshi were the *Keiha 慶派 based in Koufukuji 興福寺, Nara. Keiha included the sculptors Koukei 康慶, Unkei 運慶 (?-1223), Kaikei 快慶 and his pupil Eikai 栄快 (mid-13c) and Koushun 康俊 (14c). There are many examples of their work in Koufukuji, including the Kongou Rikishi 金剛力士 in the Kokuhoukan 国宝館 by Koukei's pupil Joukei 定慶, as well as in other Nara temples such as at Toudaiji 東大寺. The second important school that formed in the 13c was the *Zenpa 善派, who were closely associated with Saidaiji 西大寺. Important sculptors associated with this school included Zen'en 善円, Zenkei 善慶 (?-1257), and Zenshun 善春, who made the famous portrait statue of Saidaiji priest Eizon 叡尊(1280). In the mid and late 14c *tsubai bussho 椿井仏所, *takama bussho 高間仏所, nobori-ooji bussho 登大路仏所, and fujiyama bussho 富士山仏所 were set up, and in the 16c *shukuin busshi 宿院仏師 were very active. These workshops continued production until the Edo period.

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