Donation of Materials on Enkū by the Family of Mr. HASEGAWA Masashige
Mr. HASEGAWA Masashige (1933~2023) devoted his life to researching Enkū, a Buddhist sculptor of the Edo period, as an independent researcher. Enkū had travelled around Japan as a Shugendô monk. He created many Buddhist statues wherever he went, and his works are estimated to number in the thousands throughout Japan. Mr. HASEGAWA served as Chairman of the Enkū Academic Society for many years.
Following the death of Mr. HASEGAWA, his family expressed to us that they would like to donate his materials, particularly those relating to research, to The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN). Thereafter, Ms. MAIZAWA Rei from the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, regularly visited his house in Aichi with Dr. MITA Kakuyuki from Nara National Museum to organize the materials. These materials were officially donated in October 2024, and we have finally received them all.
Mr. HASEGAWA travelled all over Japan searching for works by Enkū. He took a number of photographs and made records of every work he saw, and his house was filled with these materials. These materials are extremely important, not only because they contain hard-to-obtain reference materials and photos of Enkū’s works from across Japan, but also because they include photos of works that have been lost due to theft.
Ms. EMURA Tomoko, Mr. TASHIRO Yūichirō, and Ms. KUROSAKI Kao from TOBUNKEN, and Mr. ŌSAKI Rui from Kuwansei Gakuin University, participated in the work of organizing the materials. Mr. FUNAHASHI Masayasu, Mr. KATŌ Susumu, and Mr. OCHIAI Katsuyoshi, who were engaged in research with Mr. HASEGAWA, also helped immensely. We will be organizing the donated materials over the next few years, so that they can be accessed and used by many people as the “Enkū Archive.”