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Shotoku Taishi at Age Sixteen

14th century

When he was sixteen, Prince Shotoku prayed for recovery of his bedridden father. Seen here, he holds an incense burner in an act of devotion. Long braids of hair identify him as a young man who was worshipped as a deity from the twelfth century on.

Prince Shotoku promoted Buddhism through his teachings, his establishment of a national Constitution and the construction of Horyu-ji, one of the oldest surviving temples in Japan. Prophecy was one of his supernatural gifts. On his deathbed he is reported to have said, "The world is illusory; only the Buddha is real."

Wood, gesso, polychromy

26 3/16 x 9 9/16 x 4 7/16 in. (66.5 x 24.3 x 11.3 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

50.127

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, "Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum", Nov. 3-28, 1965, cat. # 114

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "A Thousand Years of Beauty: Japanese Art in Seattle", July 16, 2001 - November 17, 2002

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Hero/Antihero", December 21, 2002 - August 17, 2003 (12/21/2002 - 8/17/2003)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Noble Splendor: Art of Japanese Aristocrats," Jul. 28, 2018 - Mar. 3, 2019.

Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 87 (b&w)

Fuller, Richard E. "Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 50

"Gift to a City" exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 114

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