Vairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), from the series Kegon-fu

Vairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) from the Kegon-fu series (1937) is the cosmic Buddha who is identical with the universe itself — whose body is the dharmadhatu, the totality of all phenomena, whose light illuminates all worlds simultaneously. This print from the 1936-37 Kegon series represents one of Munakata's deepest Buddhist engagements: the attempt to give visual form to the most abstract of Buddhist cosmological concepts. His carving, which worked by feel and instinct as much as by deliberate design, may have been an appropriate medium for this particular attempt — the formless made tangible through direct physical action.