Details

In Miroku, Kiyoshi Saito offers a powerful reinterpretation of one of Japan’s most revered spiritual images. This composition draws directly from a celebrated Nara period sculpture of Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva), an iconic seated figure housed in a Kyoto National Museum. Captured in the timeless pose of contemplative reflection—one hand lightly touching the cheek—the figure symbolizes the promise of future enlightenment and compassion.

Saito distills the ancient form into a bold and expressive visual language. The figure’s flowing robes and elegant posture are reduced to essential rhythms of line and mass, emphasizing serenity over ornamental detail. The natural woodgrain of the printing block is left partially exposed, providing a subtle, textured backdrop that infuses the image with organic vitality—an important design element characteristic of the mid-century Sosaku Hanga (creative print) movement—and echoes the materiality of the sculpture itself.

Connoisseur's Note

Miroku exemplifies Kiyoshi Saito’s profound sensitivity to traditional Japanese spiritual and artistic heritage, seen through the lens of modern design principles. Rather than offering a literal reproduction of the Nara masterpiece, Saito conveys its sculptural essence—capturing the contemplative stillness and quiet majesty of the original while simplifying the form for contemporary resonance.

The presence of woodgrain in the background is particularly significant, echoing the materiality of the sculpture itself and links it to natural impermanence central to both Buddhist philosophy and Japanese aesthetics such as wabi-sabi. This print, produced in an edition of only 50 impressions, reflects Saito’s rare ability to bridge antiquity and modernity—paying homage to the past while speaking in a distinctly modern visual language.