Jianzhen (Jp. Ganjin, 688-763) set out from Damingsi, Yangzhou, to reach Nara, Japan, starting around age 55. Around 10 years later he made it, on the sixth try. (The fifth had left him blind.) He became abbot at Todai-ji, home to the Great Buddha, and later founded Toshodai-ji.
The image is a studio shot by Japan's National Gallery, where I saw the statue close-up. The blank eyes indicate his blindness. A copy of this statue was presented to Damingsi in Yangzhou as a token of Sino-Japanese Buddhist cooperation; I visited the hall it resided in frequently during the year I lived there.
Posted to Reddit et al, January 20, 2025
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