Seki City Horado Enkū Museum, Biographical museum in Seki, Japan
The Seki City Horado Enkū Museum displays Buddhist statues carved by the monk Enkū that were handed down at the neighbouring Kōga Shrine, including a Kangiten image said to be his last work. These form the Kōga Shrine Enkū Buddhist Statues, a Gifu Prefectural Cultural Property. The museum also exhibits other cultural assets of the former Horado Village.
The museum opened as the Enkū Memorial Hall, a village cultural-resource facility of Horado, Mugi District. In 2005 Horado was merged into Seki, and the museum took its present name. It displays the group of Enkū statues handed down at neighbouring Kōga Shrine, a Gifu Prefecture designated cultural property, including a Kangiten image said to be Enkū's last work.
The museum displays the Enkū statues handed down at neighbouring Takaga Shrine, including a Kangiten image said to be his last work; the group is a Gifu Prefecture-designated cultural property. It also shows other cultural assets of the former Horado Village. Unlike Seki City's Enkūkan, which rotates the city's Enkū statues, this museum keeps the shrine's own pieces.
The museum stands at 1212 Horado Kōga in the mountainous Horado district, far from central Seki; the usual approach is the city loop bus from Seki Station on the Nagaragawa Railway, about 90 minutes to the Kōga Shrine stop. It closes on Mondays, the day after public holidays, and from 29 December to 3 January, and also during exhibition changes.
Many of the sculptures on display were carved by Enkū in just a few minutes, showing his remarkable speed and fluidity with the chisel. These quick works emerged from his meditation practice and served as a form of spiritual discipline rather than polished artwork.
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