Enkū

Enkū
One of Enkū's many carvings
Personal life
Born1632
Died1695
Miroku-ji temple, Seki, Gifu, Japan
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolTendai Jimonshu
Senior posting
SuccessorEncho

Enkū (円空) (1632–1695) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, poet and sculptor during the early Edo period. He was born in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture) and is famous for carving some 120,000 wooden statues of the Buddha and other Buddhist icons, many of which were given in payment for lodging on his pilgrimages to temples throughout Japan.