"Boshin" — a term referring to a sacred or dharmic body, or possibly a specific deity — appears in this 1937 print from Munakata's extraordinarily productive year of Buddhist imagery. The word "boshin" in Buddhist terminology can refer to the dharma-body of the Buddha (dharmakaya), the aspect of the Buddha that is identical with ultimate reality itself. As a print subject, it would represent one of the most abstract of Munakata's sacred themes — not a figure with iconographic attributes but the idea of sacred presence itself, made visible through his carving.
1960
Woodblock print
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
1939-68
Woodblock print
1939 (printed 1955)
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Boshin was created by Shiko Munakata (棟方志功) in 1937.
Boshin depicts figures, religious, and mythology.
