Materials and Making

Japanese Buddhist sculptors worked in many materials, and the choice reflects the period, the patron and the purpose. Understanding how a statue was made helps in dating it, in judging its condition and in caring for it.

Wood

From the ninth century, wood became the dominant material of Japanese sculpture.

  • Single-block carving, ichiboku-zukuri. The body carved from one log, heavy and solid, typical of the early Heian period. Backs were often hollowed to prevent cracking.
  • Joined-block carving, yosegi-zukuri. The body assembled from several hollowed blocks, perfected by the sculptor Jōchō in the eleventh century. Lighter, larger and quicker to make, it allowed workshops to divide labour.
  • Split and hollowed, warihagi. A single log split, hollowed and rejoined.
  • Woods. Japanese cypress, hinoki, above all; also kaya, camphor and cherry, and fragrant sandalwood for small images. See Woods of the Buddha.

Other materials

  • Gilt bronze, kondō. Cast bronze covered in gold, the material of the earliest Japanese images.
  • Dry lacquer, kanshitsu. Layers of lacquer-soaked cloth over a clay or wooden core, used in the eighth century for figures of great subtlety such as the Kōfukuji Ashura.
  • Clay, sozō. Modelled over a wooden armature and painted, as in the Twelve Generals of Shin-Yakushiji.
  • Stone, sekibutsu. Roadside figures, garden images and the great cliff carvings of Usuki in Kyushu.
  • Iron. Cast iron buddhas of the Kamakura period, sombre and powerful.

Surfaces

  • Gold leaf over lacquer, shippaku. The usual gilding of wooden figures. See Reading gilt surfaces.
  • Cut gold, kirikane. Patterns of fine gold foil on robes.
  • Polychromy, saishiki. Mineral pigments over a white ground, often worn to traces.
  • Bare wood, danzō. Unpainted fragrant wood, admired for its grain.

Objects inside

Many hollow figures contain dedications sealed inside: sutras, prayers, relics, small images and inscriptions naming sculptor, patron and date. These tainai nōnyūhin are invaluable evidence and should be recorded, never removed for sale.

In the collection

Browse gilt wood figures, bronzes and stone sculpture.

See also

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