sanjō bussho 三条仏所

Keywords
Art History
Sculpture

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 that was located in Kyoto's Sanjō 三条 district. It is said to have been established by Jōchō's 定朝 followers Chōsei 長勢 (1010-91) and Ensei 円勢 (?-1134) in the 11th century. See *Jōchōyō 定朝様. Some scholars believe that the original studio was located elsewhere. The term was first used in the time of Myōen 明円 (?-1199), who is recorded to have lived in Sanjō. Because many sanjō bussho sculptors *busshi 仏師 used the character 円 'En' in their names, the school was known as *Enpa 円派. The Enpa, together with *Inpa 院派 sculptors located in Shichijō-ōmiya 七条大宮 and Rokujō-madenokōji 六条万里小路, are collectively known as the *kyoto busshi 京都仏師. They held a dominant position in Japanese sculpture-making during the Fujiwara period, over-taken by the *Kei-ha 慶派 in the Kamakura period. Representative sanjō bussho works include Nikkō Gakkō Bosatsu-zō 日光・月光菩薩像 (1064) by Chōsei in Kōryūji 広隆寺, Kyoto, and Godai Myōō-zō 五大明王像 (1176) by Myōen in Daikakuji 大覚寺, Kyoto.