Hirakushi Denchū


Hirakushi Denchū or Hiragushi Denchū was a Japanese sculptor. He was noted for his traditional Japanese wood sculptures, especially realistically rendered painted wooden portrait sculptures, often incorporating Buddhist themes. He was appointed to the Imperial Art Academy in 1937 and in 1944 was appointed an Imperial Household Artist. He was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 1954 and in 1962 was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit.
His carving of a pair of dragon gods can be found in the rear alcoves of Kaminarimon Gate at the entrance to Tokyo's Sensō-ji Temple, installed in 1978 on the 1,350th anniversary of the Kannon's first appearance in Asakusa.

Biography

Denchū was born in Shitsuki in Okayama Prefecture, Japan in 1872, under the name Tanaka. In 1882, he was adopted by Hirakushi family of Numakuma in Hiroshima Prefecture and took on the new name. He began his career as an artist in 1893, starting as an apprentice to woodcarver Nakaya Seiko, who carved puppets for bunraku puppet dramas in Osaka. In 1897 he moved to Tokyo and studied under artist Kōun Takamura. In 1907, Denchu and three other sculptors established the Nihon Chōkoku Kai, and he submitted his 1908 wood sculpture Katsujinsen to its first exhibition, winning the attention of the influential art scholar Okakura Tenshin.
One of Denchu's best-known works is the -tall statue Tenshō of 1920. The statue depicts a wrathful figure with a halo of flames - perhaps the Buddhist deity Fudô-myôô - as it vomits out a tiny human figure. According to Penelope Mason's History of Japanese Art:
Denchū died on December 30, 1979, and is buried at Tama Cemetery in Fuchū in western Tokyo.
There are two museums dedicated to his work: