Tankei (湛慶)
Tankei (1173-June 20, 1256) was a sculptor of Buddhist statues during the Kamakura period..
All the sons of Unkei became sculptors, of which the oldest son, Tankei, is known as a virtuoso like Unkei and Kaikei. It is known that, at the age of 82, Tankei completed a big statue of the Senju Kannon (the Thousand Armed Kannon), the principal image at the Myoho-in Temple, Rengeo-in (Sanjusangen-do) in Kyoto according to the inscription on the monument. Among the 1,000 statues (more precisely 1,001 statues) standing together in large numbers on either side of the principal image at Sanjusangen-do, some statues have an inscription saying the statue was made by Tankei.
Representative Works
The Wooden Seated Statue of Senju Kannon: the principal image at the Myoho-in Temple, Sanjusangen-do (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture), National Treasure
The Wooden Standing Statues of Bishamon-ten (Vaisravana) and Bothsides Attendants: Sekkei-ji Temple, (Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture), Important Cultural Assets
The Wooden Standing Statues of Zenmyo-shin and Hakko-shin at the Kozan-ji Temple (Kyoto City): it is presumed that these were made by Tankei, although there is no inscription.