Japan's foremost Buddhist Master and Artist of the 20th century.

Shinjo Ito (1906-1989), founder of the Shinnyo-en stream of Buddhism, was one of Japan's most versatile Buddhist sculptors and an accomplished artist in fields as diverse as calligraphy and photography. Throughout his life he created countless artworks as a way of giving form to his deeply held faith-in 1957 producing probably his greatest milestone, the Great Parinirvana Image: a 16-foot (480 cm) long statue of Buddha Shakyamuni about to enter nirvana.

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