Ōbaku Zen portrait painting as part of the chinzō tradition of Buddhist art

The article examines the Ōbaku Zen portrait painting, which is an essential part of the cultural heritage of the sect, and its relation to the tradition of the Buddhist portrait called chinzō. The Ōbaku school, the third branch of Japanese Zen Buddhism after Rinzai and Sōtō, was established in Japan during the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) by Chinese immigrants. The art of the Ōbaku monks had a significant impact on the formation of the cultural image of the Tokugawa period, since the huge surge in its popularity led to the transformation of certain genres of art, in particular, painting, where so called “Chinese styles” appeared. An example of this transformation is the widespread distribution of the Ōbaku portraits, considered in the article.
The article analyzes the Chinese origins of the Buddhist portrait genre, its traditional features that became key characteristics, as well as the development of chinzō in medieval Japan. Special attention is paid to the description of Ōbaku portraits as a unique genre and the analysis of the biographies of the sect’s most famous portrait painters. The article also addresses the inconsistencies between Ōbaku portraits and some stylistic and functional features of the chinzō tradition, the reasons for which lie in the influence of Western painting style and the need to produce a large number of images for the new temples of the sect. The author concludes that, despite the obvious differences (a clear emphasis on frontality, a special use of light and shadow borrowed from Western artists, a large number of works produced as opposed to uniqueness), the essence of Ōbaku Buddhist portraits corresponds to the chinzō tradition, which was intended to express a close relationship between a Zen master and his student, to confirm his achievement of enlightenment, and were also used as a substitute for a deceased monk during temple rituals. Ōbaku portraits continued to perform these key functions, which allows them to be considered a full-fledged part of the chinzō genre.

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