Hidari Jingorō: 22 cool facts

Hidari Jingorō (左 甚五郎) was a possibly fictitious Japanese artist. A Renaissance man, he worked as a sculptor, carpenter, painter, architect, comedian, actor, kōdanshi (rhythmical storyteller) and professor of art. Although various studies recommend he was sprightly in the to come Edo period (around 1596–1644), there are controversies more or less the historical existence of the person. Jingorō is believed to have created many well-known deity sculptures located throughout Japan, and many legends have been told virtually him. His famous nemuri-neko (“sleeping cat”) carving is located above the Kuguri-mon Gate amidst the sacred mountain shrines and temples of Nikkō, Japan. Amongst these shrines and temples is Nikkō Tōshō-gū, a shrine that honors the Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The two dragon carvings at the karamon in Ueno Tōshō-gū are also qualified to him.

Other sculptors were reportedly jealous of how skilled a carpenter Hidari was, to the reduction of chopping off his right arm. Luckily he was left-handed and was adept to keep working, the defense why he acquired his last broadcast Hidari (meaning “left”). According to different theory, he was an apprentice to a blacksmith and made katana swords. After energetic there a while, Jingorō felt he deserved to know what temperature the oil was kept at. Against his boss’s permission he attempted to exam the temperature of the oil by disturbing it and his boss cut off his right hand. When he realized he could no longer be a blacksmith he became an apprentice for the Chief Architect Hokyo Yoheiji Yusa of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, where he studied how to build temples, shrines, and sculptures.

Stories about Jingorō are capably known in Japan. According to one, he proverb a woman of exceptional beauty and created a sculpture of her. Jingorō began to beverage in the company of the sculpture, and it emotionlessly started to concern his moves. When a mirror was placed before the sculpture, the woman’s sparkle came to life.