Buddha Asyura Nara (A)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
The (A) version of Saito's Asura Nara print—one of the earliest variants in a series he revisited several times—likely shows the famous Kofukuji sculpture in the most direct frontal presentation. Saito was drawn to the Asura above all Buddhist subjects for its formal complexity (three faces, eight arms) and its unreadable emotional register: the teenage face hovering between grief and determination in a way that no amount of technical reduction could eliminate. The sculpture's antiquity and his art's modernity create productive tension.
More Prints by Saito Kiyoshi
More Temples & Shrines Prints
Fushimi Inari Temple
伏見稲荷
Woodblock print
The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Temple with lanterns
Woodblock print
A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Uji Byodoin no ichibu
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buddha Asyura Nara (A) was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清).
Buddha Asyura Nara (A) depicts temples & shrines and religious, set at Nara.