Tue, Jul 5, 2022
The wooden seated statue of Amida Nyorai (Amitabha) owned by the Zuishin-in temple (Yamashina Ward, Kyoto) has been shipped to Kyoto National Museum’s Conservation Center for Cultural Properties (Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto) for repairs.
The Heian-period sculpture is one of three seated statues designated as important cultural properties housed at the temple. Known for its calm expression, the seated Amida Nyorai is said to have been shaped by Jocho, a master Buddhist sculptor of medieval times.
The seated statue was shipped to the conservation center in April 2022 after masking sheets were applied to the surface where damage is severe and the statue was wrapped in thin paper. Conservators from Bijyutsu-in, a public interest incorporated foundation based in Kyoto, will fix the peeling of shippaku or gold-leaf-on-lacquer found on the face, breast and left arm.
The wooden seated statue of Kongo Satta (Vajrasattva), another one of the three seated statues housed at Zuishin-in, is scheduled to go under repair next year (fiscal 2023).
The repair work is financially supported by the Tsumugu Project, a joint effort of Japan’s Cultural Affairs agency, Imperial Household Agency and national daily newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun (headquartered in Tokyo) to help conserve the nation’s artistic treasures.
Photos by Michihiro Kawamura
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)
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