Jōkei

was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. Aside from his artwork, Jōkei left little record of his life, so sorting out the details of his biography is difficult. The fact that two men by that name were working in Nara in the 13th century only complicates matters.

Jōkei probably began his career as a disciple of Kōkei, the organizer of the Kei school of sculpture, or of Unkei. In fact, Jōkei may even have been Kōkei's son, In this capacity, he sculpted works for the reconstruction of the temples Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji in Nara.

Jōkei followed the lead of Unkei and others in the Kei school in his pursuit of realism. An early example of this is his Guardian King (Niō), carved sometime in the 1190s.

The figures of Yuima (Sanskrit: Vimalakirti) and Monju (Sanskrit: Manjushri) in the East kōndō of Kōfuku-ji also show Jōkei's interpretation of the Kei aesthetic. The debate between these two men had been the subject of earlier Japanese sculpture, but Jōkei's depiction is different and subject to interpretation. Some see his Yuima as strong and healthy, The work also indicates that Jōkei was familiar with the Buddhist sculpture of Song China. An inscription inside the chest portion of the work says that Jōkei worked on it in 1196 for 53 days. It lists Kōen, possibly his son, as the artist who did the coloration.