Josai University Educational Corporation

NEWS

Josai Hosts Special Lecture by Yoshiaki Shimizu on “The Works of Jakuchū Itō and Hongaku Thought in Buddhism”

On February 24, 2015, as part of their 50th anniversary festivities, the Josai University Educational Corporation hosted a special lecture by Yoshiaki Shimizu on “The Works of Jakuchū Itō and Hongaku Thought in Buddhism” in the 3rd building of the Tokyo Kioicho Campus. Mr. Shimizu, Professor Emeritus of Art and Archeology at Princeton University and the foremost scholar in Japanese art history, gave a talk on the art of Jakuchū Itō, who was active during the mid-Edo period, analyzing his work from a religious perspective.

Jakuchū Itō (1716-1800) was born the eldest son of a grocer whose shop was located in the Nishiki district of Kyoto. Jakuchū ran the shop until age 40 when he turned it over to one of his younger brothers to pursue a career in painting. By incorporating elements of the Kōrin School of ornamental painting, Jakuchū developed his own unique approach to art. For his numerous paintings containing realistic depictions of plants and animals, Jakuchū became known as the “uncanny artist.” “Hongaku thought” is often translated as “innate enlightenment” and is based on the idea that all sentient beings are already enlightened a notion that proliferated as a central dogma of Tendai Buddhism.

Chancellor Noriko Mizuta provided opening remarks at the lecture that was held in Josai’s International Conference Room. “It is a great honor to introduce this special lecture by Mr. Shimizu to commemorate Josai’s 50th anniversary, “ she said. Prof. Emeritus Shimizu showed many slides of Jakuchū’s work alongside paintings of the Buddha achieving enlightenment to demonstrate the “incorporation of religious connotations in the artistic work of Jakuchū. This is one of the great merits of Jakuchū’s paintings, thereby linking them with Hongaku thought.”
  More than one hundred attendees, including Josai University and Josai International University faculty and extension students, listened with great attention to Prof. Shimizu’s fascinating lecture.

Prof. Shimizu during his lecture

Prof. Shimizu during his lecture

Prof. Shimizu explains Jakuchū’s work

Prof. Shimizu explains Jakuchū’s work


Page Top