Lao Zi

Hashimoto Heihachi constructed his own unique artistic world by combining elements of both eastern and western thought. A significant number of his works, such as this sculpture of the ancient Chinese Daoist philosopher Lao Zi, make use of subject matter from the Far East. Heihachi was fascinated with the Edo-period monk Enkū (1632-1695), who wandered the country creating Buddhist folk art along the way. It is also known that Heihachi’s ideological belief system also incorporated animistic tendencies reminiscent of those of the ancient Far East. His art, however, was not born solely out of Japanese and Far Eastern tradition. He also had a strong interest in the spiritual thought of the west. The fleshiness and construction of space in his art clearly show the influence of modern Western sculpture. The Japanese have often wondered about how to integrate eastern and western culture; Heihachi’s sculptures seem to offer one response to this question.