Musashi Kickstarter

[opr1945105]

After reading about these carvings of Fudō Myō-ō I went to ebay looking for one. My wife fell in love with this one. The listing just says "Old Wise Man Prosperity." It is 12" tall. It also has a square hole on each side of head, but, they do not connect. Can anyone shed some light on who the statue might represent or what the square holes are for? Thanks.

 

[Gyakuto107]

He looks like some sort of ?Chinese sage? The holes suggest something fitted on either side of his head but are missing.

 

[Haruhiko]

He looks like some sort of ?Chinese sage? The holes suggest something fitted on either side of his head but are missing.

Indeed. It looks like a carving of Confucius.

As for the hole on the side of his head it was likely for a silk or cotton string as it looks like it might have been a talisman to be hung up. Or maybe a carpenter's square for a fixture the carving didn't come with. Maybe as an accessory or something metallic? Completely guessing now.

Confucius typically holds scrolls in carvings though, not a staff (if anything at all).

 

[opr1945105]

Thank you. The holes are square and do not connect to each others so something going through is not going to work. But suspension between two something is a distinct possibility. But, in the end she really likes it. So it ends well.

Still looking for Fudō Myō-ō that I like and the price is right.

Thanks, again.

 

[Gyakuto107]

Indeed. It looks like a carving of Confucius.

It doesn’t really look like Confucius to me. He’s usually depicted with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

Many of Confucius’s ideas are what I live by and I read a few verses from Analects before I go to bed…after Playboy of course…which I read for the articles.

He was very wise indeed.

As for the hole on the side of his head it was likely for a silk or cotton string as it looks like it might have been a talisman to be hung up.

The hole doesn’t go all the way through so that’s not likely.

Confucius typically holds scrolls in carvings though, not a staff (if anything at all).

Have a quick Google search. Hands crossed in front of his chest…

 

[Haruhiko]

It doesn’t really look like Confucius to me. He’s usually depicted with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

Many of Confucius’s ideas are what I live by and I read a few verses from Analects before I go to bed…after Playboy of course…which I read for the articles.

He was very wise indeed.

The hole doesn’t go all the way through so that’s not likely.

Have a quick Google search. Hands crossed in front of his chest…

Yeah you're right. Interesting. Might be a Taoist sage?

Enjoy your Playboy articles

 

[opr1945105]

These posts on the forums that I have been reading have enlightened me on topics that I really didn't know existed. Exercising ones mind has to be beneficial. Thanks to everyone It is been enjoyable as well as educational. Please continue.

 

[isshinryuronin1]

Exercising ones mind has to be beneficial

Over-exercising can be harmful. I try not to over-do it.

 

[Gyakuto107]

Yeah you're right. Interesting. Might be a Taoist sage?

Yeah I think that’s what it probably is, but who?

Enjoy your Playboy articles

They are very well written

 

[Gyakuto107]

These posts on the forums that I have been reading have enlightened me on topics that I really didn't know existed. Exercising ones mind has to be beneficial. Thanks to everyone It is been enjoyable as well as educational. Please continue.

Unfortunately, it’s mostly of little use. Shame we can’t work on solving the ‘fusion power’ problem…

 

[Gyakuto107]

Over-exercising can be harmful. I try not to over-do it.

We’ve noticed…

 

[Same Trick52]

Aren’t there one or two of the 21 Dokkodo rules that say something as - one should not collect garbage and things one doesn’t really have any use of ?

 

[Gyakuto107]

No. 14 ‘Do not hold on to possession you no longer require’.

My house’d be virtually empty if I followed that advice.

 

[opr1945105]

I have lots of stuff that is to good to throw away, But I don't currently have a use for it. (Hoarder?)

 

[elder999]

Looks fake to me.

As far as I know (studied his works in my youth) Musashi wasn't know for sculpting, he was a painter and calligrapher.

That's definitely a B

uddhist deity (Fudo Mi-O), but people try to sell this kind of junk in Manhattan on the street.

IMPORTANT KODÔGU BY MIYAMOTO MUSASHI 宮本武蔵 - NIHONTO

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) whose art name was Niten, achieved great fame as a master swordsman. In the seventeenth year of Kan-ei (1640), he accepted an offer

nihonto.com

Artwork by Musashi

 

[Wing Woo Gar42]

Does anyone else see the irony of this pose?

View attachment 32289

I've never seen Fudō Myō-ō holding his sword with both hands...

I have only ever seen him with sword in one hand and noose in the other.

 

[Sammy Naur]

IMPORTANT KODÔGU BY MIYAMOTO MUSASHI 宮本武蔵 - NIHONTO

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) whose art name was Niten, achieved great fame as a master swordsman. In the seventeenth year of Kan-ei (1640), he accepted an offer

nihonto.com

Artwork by Musashi

The hilts make sense, but I think we came to a consensus that the "replica of sculpture representing Fudo Myo" is not a true replica of Musashi's original work. There doesn't seem to be an original anywhere, and the oldest wood carving we found below looks very different.

Unless there is an original in a museum somewhere, there's no connection between those angry Fudo statues. I'm still curious if the one below is actually in museum or some private collection.

 

[Sammy Naur]

I have only ever seen him with sword in one hand and noose in the other.

This is an actual piece at the Met, 700 years old, by an artist named Kaikei who lived in the 12th century.

Notice how the wood carving in my last post also shows a half-seated Acala/Fudo.

Kaikei - Fudō Myōō, the Immovable Wisdom King (Achala Vidyaraja) - Japan - Kamakura period (1185–1333) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This ferocious-looking deity, Fudō Myōō, is known in India as Achala or Achalanatha. He is one of the many manifestations of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and reincarnation.[1] Both his Sanskrit and Japanese names mean "the unshakable or immovable one," and true to his name, he came to be...

www.metmuseum.org

 

[Same Trick52]

Those angry warrior statues -

“Anger. Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you.Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated”
Miyamoto Musashi

 

[Haruhiko]

Those angry warrior statues -

“Anger. Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you.Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated”
Miyamoto Musashi

I swear half the quotes I see attributed to Musashi aren't even real.