Prince Shōtoku at Age Sixteen

In the Style of Toba Sōjō Japanese

Not on view

Imaginary portraits and legends about the life of Prince Shōtoku (574–622), the foremost proponent of Buddhism in Japan, emerged soon after his death. Based on the prince’s mid-Heian-period biography, this painting portrays him in a form in which he was often revered as a deified historical figure: at the age of sixteen, he prayed for his father, Emperor Yōmei (518–587), to recover from illness. The pose, which belongs to a category of portraiture known as kōyō-zō (images of filial piety), appears in both paintings and sculptures of young Shōtoku, which make up nearly half his extant portraits. Dressed in a monk’s robe, he holds a censer; his hair is arranged in the two loops of a youth and frames boyish, idealized features.

Prince Shōtoku at Age Sixteen, In the Style of Toba Sōjō (Japanese, 1053–1140), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan

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Prince Shōtoku at Age Sixteen, In the Style of Toba Sōjō (Japanese, 1053–1140), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Prince Shōtoku at Age Sixteen, In the Style of Toba Sōjō (Japanese, 1053–1140), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Prince Shōtoku at Age Sixteen, In the Style of Toba Sōjō (Japanese, 1053–1140), Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan

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